


Lily Potter and the Enchanted Mirror

by colcustard



Series: Lily Potter [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Female Harry, Female Harry Potter, Gen, Hogwarts, Mirror of Erised, POV Female Character, Quidditch, Retelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 102,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26307580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colcustard/pseuds/colcustard
Summary: Lily was a lonely, miserable girl before she received her letter to Hogwarts. Now with a new home and family, she has to face a castle full of danger and mystery, face the prospect of making genuine friendships, and resist the temptations of a mirror that shows her true heart's desire.
Series: Lily Potter [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987975
Comments: 18
Kudos: 123





	1. The Girl Under the Stairs

Lily Potter was laying under the hot, summer sun, trying not to be noticed. She had been having a bad day already, and now that her aunt was looking for her, she couldn't see it getting any better. They were getting into the hot part of summer, and her long, red hair was clinging to her forehead. She scratched at her forehead scar, a memento from an unknown past.

She had been rudely awoken from her cupboard under the stairs early in the morning and forced to cook breakfast while her cousin screamed about not receiving enough birthday presents. Now, they were all getting ready to head to the zoo, along with Dudley's moronic best friend. Lily was supposed to spend the day with old Mrs. Figg, but she had broken her leg, and now she was expected to accompany them to the zoo.

She didn't want to go. At first, she had been excited to go. She never got to go anywhere. But once she saw Dudley and Piers looking at her with hatred in their eyes, she had decided to try hiding, which was something she did very well.

Lily had always been small, as a side effect from being underfed. While the rest of the girls in her class were beginning to grow exponentially, she had been stuck at her minuscule height, which earned her plenty of teasing. She had grown accustomed to hiding in places others couldn't fit in. Currently, she was stuck between Aunt Petunia's bushes and the wall of the house. The sun was at exactly the right position to bear down on her, and she was sweating profusely. They hadn’t found Lily in this hiding spot before, but she knew it was only a matter of time. She’d have to find another spot soon enough.

“For the last time, Lily, get out here right now so we can leave!” Her Aunt screeched from the driveway. Lily continued laying on the ground, earning her a honk from Uncle Vernon's car. She couldn't see him, but she could envision his bright, beet-red face as he beat his steering wheel in frustration. She could hear Dudley whining, but she couldn't make out what he was saying.

“That's it!” Uncle Vernon shouted through the car window. “Petunia, get in the car! If she wants to stay so badly, then she can go right ahead! The door is already locked, let’s just leave. I’ll deal with _her_ when we get home.” Lily didn't like the sound of that, but she knew from experience that it was too late to give in now. If she did, she'd still get the punishment.

She heard Aunt Petunia huff, followed by a car door slamming shut. The engine started, and the wheels crunched on a twig as it pulled out of the driveway, which was surprising, considering Aunt Petunia normally went over the thing with a fine comb to make sure it was immaculate. Soon, she couldn't hear the vehicle anymore, and she decided to risk peeking out from her hiding place.

“Gotcha!” A thick hand grabbed her by the hair, and yanked her out of the bush.

“Get off! Stop, that hurts!” She squealed in protest, but Uncle Vernon wasn't hearing it. As he forced her around the building, she could see Aunt Petunia driving the car back around the street corner. Lily gave in. “Fine, I'll come, just _please_ let go.”

“Oh, no, no, no, missy. Not anymore. Now you'll be going into your cupboard, and you'll be _staying_ there until I say you can come out. You'll be lucky if you're fed tonight, I think.” Uncle Vernon jammed his keys into the locked door, and pushed it open with his foot. Lily scratched at this hand and attempted to stomp on his feet, but Uncle Vernon wasn't affected. He just kept on pulling her towards the door under the staircase.

Uncle Vernon wrenched the cupboard door open, and shoved Lily into it. She tried to force her way back out, but Uncle Vernon shut her fingers in the door. Lily screamed, and pulled them back, and Vernon got the door shut. She heard him locking it, as she leaned down on her bed, tears coming to her eyes.

“Now see here, missy, this is for your own good! You'll be staying in there, and if you're good, I _might_ allow Petunia to bring you a salad later. But, for now-” Vernon was cut off by a loud scraping noise, as he was moving a cabinet in front of her door, “I’m going to make sure you _stay. Put.”_ Vernon laughed, and she could hear him close the door behind him as he left the house.

Lily laid on her bed, curled up into a ball, and let the tears come to her. She rubbed her head, as if that would help the soreness go away. To be quite frank, she was lucky Vernon hadn’t pulled out any hair.

She never heard the family return hours later, and she never received that salad. She spent the night in the dark, wondering when she would be let out this time. She knew she deserved it. All she had to do was go to the stupid zoo, but no, she couldn’t even bring herself to do that much for Dudley’s special day.

It was two days before she heard Uncle Vernon moving the cabinet away from the door, grumbling to himself. This was the first time in awhile that she had to go a whole day without at least a little bit of food. She had been laying perfectly still in bed, trying not to move at all, as every time she did, she had hunger pangs wracking her tiny body. She felt greasy and gross from the lack of a shower, and her long, red hair had been tangled beyond care for awhile now. She had thankfully used the bathroom before she had gone into hiding, otherwise she’d have _that_ to deal with as well.

“Get up,” Uncle Vernon said. “There's cleaning to be done. Aunt Petunia has kindly made you some breakfast, so go eat, and then get to it.” He unlocked the door, and then walked away. Lily got up slowly, wiping away the tears from her eyes, and then got on with the day, after eating her measly breakfast of a single, thin slice of grapefruit and a whole one boiled egg.

A couple of weeks later, Lily was sweeping the hallway, occasionally stopping to brush her red hair from her eyes, when the post arrived. It was late, today, as Uncle Vernon had already left to work. She knew she'd get in trouble if she left it there, so she set aside the broom, and scooped up the letters. She made her way to the kitchen to drop them on the table, and shifted through them as she did so.

Lily stopped in the hallway, just in front of the kitchen door, and stared at the letter she was holding on top. She read it three times, just to make sure she wasn’t mistaken. Eventually, she simply had to believe her eyes. It read:

Mrs. H. Potter

The Cupboard under the Stairs

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey

_This letter has my name,_ she thought. _I never get mail. Who would want to write to me?_

She quickly opened her cupboard door, and tossed the letter onto her bed. Her heart was thumping as she closed the door, and then entered the kitchen to deposit the rest of the mail. Aunt Petunia took no notice of her, as she was busy cleaning she dishes from breakfast. Lily went back into the hallway, and was going to head into her room when Aunt Petunia called to her.  
“I don't hear the broom, young lady. Less leaning, more cleaning.” Lily groaned, but got back to sweeping. _It’s probably just spam, anyway,_ Lily thought. Lily settled in to spend the rest of the day in monotony.

Hours later, after finishing dozens of chores for Aunt Petunia and then a dozen more once Uncle Vernon returned home, Lily returned to her room, with the intention of collapsing onto her bed, until she saw the letter still sitting there. She gasped in excitement, then quickly looked both ways to make sure nobody was watching before shutting herself into the cupboard. She knew nobody would be coming for her this late, but it was better to be safe than sorry. _I'm just lucky Aunt Petunia didn't inspect my room today._

She read the front of it one more time, just to be sure it was really addressed to her, then flipped it to the backside. The letter was sealed with wax, and she couldn't quite make out the symbols in the dim light of her cupboard. She could definitely see a lion and a serpent, but the others were a mystery at the moment. She cracked open the seal, withdrew the heavy parchment, and read the contents.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)_

Dear Mrs. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

_Deputy Headmistress_

Lily's heart sank. _Of course it was a prank. Thanks, Dudley._ Still, even if it was a prank, it was a rather good one. Lily set the letter aside, and lay back onto her pillow. She closed her eyes, getting ready for sleep, but her mind couldn't help but racing.

_What if it wasn’t?_ She thought. Lily let herself consider the possibility. Dudley surely wasn’t smart enough to come up with something like this. One of his friends could have, for sure. They could have even put all their brain cells together to think of it. But if Dudley was behind it, then he _definitely_ wouldn’t have been smart enough wait this long. He would have jumped up the instant Lily had seen the letter.

_But what about magic?_ Lily thought. That was the part that made it unbelievable. Magic couldn’t possibly exist, Uncle Vernon had made that very clear. Lily couldn’t even say the word without her Aunt and Uncle freaking out and shutting her away for a few days. But what if that, in itself, is proof? What if they only react that way because they know, for a fact, that magic is real?

_But what have I don’t that’s magic?_ She had once turned the teacher’s hair blue. That had earned her a week in the cupboard. But was that really magic? There was one time she had hidden herself in a broom closet to escape from the other girls. When she came out, she had been in a completely different building. That had earned a suspension, which she had spent locked in the cupboard. Surely that was magic. Lily had even thrown the word out herself in an attempt to justify it, which had taken away her dinner for the first two nights.

There was also that time a strange, cloaked man had accosted her in the supermarket. He had stared at her scar the entire time he was vigorously shaking her hand. He had definitely been thanking her for something, but Lily had been too confused to process it. Maybe she had accidentally done some magic on him? It had definitely earned her a week in the cupboard.

Lily decided to take the chance. Even if it wasn’t real, maybe at least writing to the pretenders would get her out of this house. Complaining to her actual teachers certainly hadn’t worked. That had just gotten Lily locked away in the cupboard for a few days.

Lily hopped up from her bed, bending to search underneath it. Lily kept the full collection of stories she had written down there. Aunt Petunia had never found them, as she was terrified of bending down in the closet.

Lily found a spare piece of paper, and then grabbed a pen from her collection as well. She tested it on her arm, found it was dead, and then tried another. That one seemed to work, so she hopped back up, placing the parchment on the small surface where she did all her wriring. It was the only flat surface in the entirety of her arm, and it’s also where she stored any collectibles she had been given. Or, at least, that’s where she _would_ keep them if she had any.

Lily raised the pen to her lips, considering her options. She mustered up her courage, and then decided to go for it. Putting pen to paper, she wrote a response.

Dear Minerva McGonagall,

I would be honored to attend your school, although I’ve never heard of it. I’ll need some help if I’m going to attend, though. I don’t know if you noticed, but you must have from the listed address, but my Aunt and Uncle keep me in the closet under the stairs. Without their permission, I won’t have the money to purchase the necessary items, let alone actually be able to come to the school.

They’ve raised me under the impression that magic isn’t real. To be honest, I’m still skeptical, but I’m also out of options. If magic is real, please, get me out of here. If magic is real, I desperately want to learn it. But I need your help.

Lily could feel tears in her eyes again. She hoped this would be enough. She didn’t know why they hadn’t already come for her, after they learned where she lived. But she had to try. Perhaps they thought it was a joke. If that was the case, surely confirming it would bring them running.

She folded the letter, determined to steal an envelope from Uncle Vernon's office tomorrow, then checked the old envelope for a return address. She frowned once she saw the blank area of parchment, then scanned the letter again. She stopped at the final sentence, reading it over once again.  
“We await your owl? What does that mean?” The only owls Lily could think of were nowhere near here, as she had already passed up her one opportunity to go to the zoo. Her heart sunk once more, and she almost decided to give up entirely.

She then decided there was no time to wait. She needed to go up to the office now while her confidence was still there. She opened her cupboard door, and checked the living room to make sure the family was still there. Dudley was laying on the couch, pushing Aunt Petunia into the very corner, while Uncle Vernon was laid back on the recliner. The telly was playing a news broadcast. That was all Lily needed to know, so she shut the door once more. Nobody seemed to notice her peeking inside, and that was well to her advantage. Lily decided to go for it, walking as quietly as she could towards the staircase.

Lily skipped the second stair, knowing it squeaks, as she made her way upwards. The door to Vernon's office was unlocked, as Dudley had been in there earlier today to play on his computer, having once more broken his own. He’d likely get a new one in a few days, as a late birthday present. Lily hurried to the desk, and grabbed the box of envelopes, before hurriedly shoving her own letter inside it. She licked the glue, and then sealed it shut. She quickly scrawled Minerva McGonagall on the front, hoping that’d be enough for the post. She stuck a couple of stamps on there just to be sure.

Lily turned to leave the room, then nearly jumped out of her skin. There had been a sharp tap behind her, and she suddenly had a vivid image of Uncle Vernon sneering at her from outside. She quickly turned back around, looking at the window. _Oh god, what's out there?_ She stared at the glass a little longer, and when the sound repeated, she jumped again.

There was an owl tapping on the glass. Lily could feel the excitement coming back on, as well as the nervousness. She had never seen an owl before, except for in pictures. The fact that there was one now tapping at the window _had_ to be a good sign. She tried to open the window, but it was sealed shut. Vernon had replaced it a year ago due to a mishap, and had improperly done so. Lily bit her bottom lip, staring at the owl. The owl stared back, then tapped at the window again.

Lily knew this was her once chance. She pointed downwards, hoping the owl would get the point, but it tilted its head at her. Lily didn’t know why she bothered, of course an owl wouldn’t understand pantomiming.

“Downstairs,” She said. “Go downstairs, I'll meet you at the front door. Okay?” The owl stared at her, and Lily briefly considered if she was going mad. Vernon would definitely think so. He’d even tell her that before shoving her into the cupboard for the rest of her life, if he found out what she was up to.

The owl hooted, and then flew off. Lily felt giddy. She hadn’t really expected it to work, but the fact that it had gave her a chance. She had to stop herself from running down the stairs, and even forgot to skip the second step, cursing herself for not being more careful. She froze, listening for the sound of Vernon rising. Moments passed, with nothing happening, and she breathed out in relief.

Lily opened the door as quietly as she could, her excitement having been quelled by her nervousness. She stepped outside, leaving the door open in case she needed to make a quick retreat. She didn’t know how vicious owls were supposed to be.

She made her way down the driveway, looking for the owl. She heard a hooting from behind her, and she yelped, nearly jumping out of her skin. She turned quickly, seeing the owl sitting on the gutters.

“Come down, hurry,” she said, sure that she was running out of time. The owl swooped down, landing on top of Uncle Vernon’s car. Speaking of whom, she could hear him yelling for her in the hallway. Lily ran up to the bird, holding the letter in front of her.

“Please,” she said desperately. “Take it to McGonagall.”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!” Vernon had reached the doorway, and saw Lily talking to an owl. The owl hooted, quickly grabbing the letter out of her hands. Vernon screamed, running forward, trying to nab the bird, but it flew out of his grasp and into the night sky.

Lily tried to hurry inside, but Vernon grabbed her by her hair, pulling her back.”

“Get off,” Lily yelled. Lights were now turning on in the nearby houses, as they reacted to the noise.

“Get. In.” Vernon’s voice was full of fury as he shoved Lily full force into the door. She fell to the floor, gasping, trying to crawl away. He grabbed her by the hair again, throwing her room’s door open with a single hand. Then, he threw her inside, and slammed the door shut.

“If you come out of there again, girl, you’ll wish you hadn’t. I promise you that.” Vernon walked away, shutting off the light in the hallway to leave Lily in the darkness.

Lily crawled into bed, crying, hoping that the owl had understood, and was now doing the right thing. This wasn’t the last time she had been scared for her life, but if help didn’t come, it could very well be the last.


	2. Rescued At Last

It had been three days since Lily had been locked back into her room. She hadn't heard anything from Uncle Vernon, but Dudley had been visiting in the middle of the night to bring her as much food as he could fit under the door frame. He had yet to explain why, but Lily was grateful to take what she could get, even if it was just a couple pieces of lettuce and some leftover bacon. He'd been letting her drink some water through a rather large, crazy straw he'd bought at the zoo as well.

Normally, he could have fit more through the door slats Uncle Vernon had installed years ago, but her dear old uncle had taken upon himself to completely seal them to give Lily as little light as possible.

It was pitch black inside her cupboard at the moment. Lily didn't know exactly what time it was, but she knew that everyone else was in bed. Dudley had yet to visit, but she knew she'd be able to hear him come down once he did.

Lily wasn't tired at all. She'd had little to do the past few days other than nap the time away. Aside from getting slightly less food than usual, it was even sort of pleasant, in a really sad way. During the day, when she had enough light peeking through under the door frame, she'd work on some stories. Occasionally, she even reread the letter she had received from Hogwarts. She hadn't brought it upstairs with her, and nobody had come into her room to take it. Lily was pretty sure they didn’t even know she had one.

Come to think of it, Lily wasn’t even quite sure why she was locked in here. Sure, she had been caught giving a letter to an owl, but that wasn’t the worst she had done. It certainly wasn’t bad enough to earn her no food or water. The one break she got from her daily routine was when Petunia would let her out in midday to use the bathroom. Occasionally, when he could manage it, she would find some morsel of food in her room upon her return that Dudley had managed to smuggle past his mum.

She heard a creak above her, followed by another, signaling that Dudley had finally gotten up to feed her. Her stomach rumbled, and she started salivating. She took up position by her door, laying face down on her stomach. She brushed away a spider that was crawling by. She heard the door the kitchen open, hoping Dudley would be able to bring her something food today. She also heard the sink briefly run, likely as Dudley was getting her water.

Soon enough, the door to the kitchen once again opened and then closed. She heard a few tentative footsteps, stopping right in front of her door.

“Lily?” she heard from the other side.

“Quiet, Dudley, or they'll hear you,” she responded.

“Sorry,” he said, as he began to push something through the doorway. “I got you some-”

Lily cut him off, “Please, Dudley, I am begging you. Just don't.”

“Sorry,” he responded once more.

Lily pulled what he offered through the doorway. Soon, she had two slices of bread, 2 pieces of lettuce, and four slices of bacon. She had though she had smelled bacon cooking earlier. Petunia must have made BLTs for supper.

“Isn't this too much Dudley? They'll notice the missing leftovers.”

“Don't worry about it, Lily. I saved it from my own meal earlier, they didn't even make enough for leftovers.

Lily frowned. “You're giving me your own food, Dudley? Won’t they notice you’re practically starving yourself?”

Dudley was silent for a long while before answering. “I just felt bad. Mum and dad weren't going to give you anything at all, and I remembered how miserable I was the last time they tried to put me on a diet. Here's the straw, hurry up and drink so I can get back to bed.”

Dudley slid the straw through, and Lily drank as much as she could as quickly as she could. Dudley cleared his throat. She wasn’t quite satisfied by Dudley’s change of heart, but she certainly wasn’t going to complain. She didn’t want herself to die, either. She assumed Dudley just didn’t want to miss out on his favorite punching bag, should his parents ever relent.

Lily finished drinking, and Dudley quickly left without another word. She briefly wondered if he was doing this under Petunia’s secret orders. She hadn’t been entirely convinced that Uncle Vernon knew about the bathroom breaks. She threw together a sandwich with what Dudley brought her, and quickly shoveled down her throat, dust and all.

She was sure the Dursleys would give in eventually. It was always only a matter of time. Clearly, the letter had failed. It must have been a trap after all. Now all she had to do was wait for Uncle Vernon to get over himself and let her out. She knew it’d happen soon enough.

Lily was wrong, unfortunately. Another two weeks passed, each day filled with boredom and infrequent toilet trips, and each night filled with even more boredom and infrequent meals. Dudley hadn’t tried talking after the third night, finally realizing the amount of danger they were both in. Lily was thankful for it, personally. Uncle Vernon was more likely to just give her a double punishment than touch Petunia’s little Diddlydums.

Soon enough, Lily's birthday rolled around, and she still hadn't been allowed out. She was beginning to wonder if she'd ever get out. She had only managed to keep track of the days based off of the number of Dudley visits. It was a very inconvenient calendar system, but it was the best she had. It was that, or the bathroom trips, and that didn’t seem very ladylike.

Lily was waiting for her midday bathroom trip, considering trying to convince Petunia to let her have a sandwich or at least a shower as a birthday present, when she heard a knock coming from the front door.

“Dudley, get the door,” she heard Aunt Petunia's shrill voice say from the kitchen. The sink was running, so clearly the woman was doing the dishes. They had made bacon again. In fact, they were making bacon _a lot_ recently, Lily noticed. She figured it was just to make her jealous that she wasn’t outside to have any.

“Make Lily do it,” Dudley replied. Lily could tell there wasn't any malice in it, and wondered if he was just trying to get her out. If so, it was a very feeble attempt, and only likely to get more time added to her sentence.

“Get the door, Dudley,” Uncle Vernon replied gruffly. He didn’t seem to buy it, which was a shame, really. Lily giggled, feeling she was going rather mad.

Dudley grumbled, but she heard him enter the hallway anyway. He didn't stop by her door, as the adults were keeping the kitchen door open to make sure Lily didn't escape somehow. Or perhaps it was just to make sure she could smell every little thing they were cooking, like the bacon. She heard the front door click, and then swing open.

“Ah, yes, good day. I assume you must be young Dudley.” Lily could hear an older gentleman talking. It was unfamiliar voice, and it sounded rather ancient. The oldest person she could picture was Winston Churchill, so that’s the image she went with.

“We're here to talk with the masters of the house, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley. If you would kindly fetch them, that would speed things up greatly.” That voice was clearly a woman, perhaps of a similar age. Margaret Thatcher, perhaps? It was the best Lily could do.0

“Uh, sure. Mum, there's people at the door for you.” That one was definitely Dudley. He sounded even more puzzled than usual, which was really saying something. That boy never had any idea what was going on around him.

“Who is it, Duddykins?” Lily would have to remember that one.

“I dunno,” Duddykins replied.

Lily could hear Aunt Petunia leave her post at the kitchen sink, presumably leaving the bacon stains to congeal. She also heard a shriek once Aunt Petunia entered the hallway, which was entirely unexpected.

“V-v-v-v-Vernon,” she stammered out. Lily could imagine her grasping onto the door-frame to avoid fainting, which brought a smile to her face.

“Hmm?”

“We have v-v-v-v-v-visitors,” she stammered out once more. Aunt Petunia had never stuttered this badly before, which was curious. She must have been utterly terrified. Lily knew the feeling.

“Good afternoon, madam. May we come in? I'm afraid we have a good deal to talk about.” She heard a footstep enter the house, as Winston Churchill decided to come in uninvited

“You most certainly may not!” Uncle Vernon roared out as he walked down the hallway. “We welcome no solicitors, especially not any of _you folk,_ so I must ask you to leave at once, thank you very much.” That sounded awfully racist. Perhaps he wasn’t Winston Churchill, after all.

“I'm afraid that isn't an option, Mr. Dursley,” Margaret Thatcher said. “You see, we received a concerning letter from one miss Hazel Potter a few weeks ago, and all of our follow-ups have gone unanswered.” _A letter?_ Lily thought. That suddenly dragged her right back into reality, and she suddenly felt very embarrassed.

“Of course we didn't answer, I burned the lot. Right good tinder, they made. Even toasted some marshmallows over them.”  
“I bet that was delightful,” the old man said, humming.

“Be that as it may, I'm afraid your compliance is no longer an option. We _are_ coming in.” the old lady said.

“You most certainly are not,” Uncle Vernon practically shouted.

“Petunia, dear,” the old man said, all tones of friendliness gone from his voice, “Must I remind you of our agreement?”

The hallway went silent, and all Lily could hear was the beating of her own heart. Lily couldn’t imagine Petunia making an agreement with Uncle Vernon, let alone a complete stranger.

“Let them in, Vernon,” Aunt Petunia finally answered. Lily couldn't believe she had given in so quickly. She could hear Vernon stammering in protest, but soon enough, two unfamiliar shadows walked past her door, followed by Vernon, who continued to grumble.

“Here you are, professor,” the old man said.  
“Thank you, Albus,” the old lady said. Now _that_ was a name Lily recognized. Hogwarts had come for her after all. Lily considered calling out for help, but knew that if they left without her, that’d mean a life sentence.  
“None of that, thank you very much,” Uncle Vernon screeched, “I've allowed you into my house for the nonce but I will absolutely not have any of _that_ in my home!” There was only one word that even Uncle Vernon feared to say. Lily felt her excitement rising.

“Whatever do you mean?” The old man replied. Uncle Vernon simply stammered more in response. Lily didn’t know exactly what was going on, but it was easy to tell that Uncle Vernon wasn’t having a good time.

“Now, to business. Would you like some tea?” Lily _would_ like some tea, thank you very much.

“Please,” Uncle Vernon growled, “I have asked you not to perform-”

“I'll take two lumps, Albus,” the woman said. Lily preferred three herself, but as Aunt Petunia scoffed every time, she was only a child, after all. Lily didn’t see anything wrong with it, personally. Besides, the extra sugar was necessary, considering how little real food she’d get. But even Uncle Vernon wasn’t enough of a monster to deny somebody tea. Well, most of the time, anyway.

“Of course, Minerva, of course,” Albus replied, “And you, Petunia? None? Are you sure? Very well, what about you, Vernon?”

“I'm not having any of your _swill_ , likely the whole pot is poisoned.” That was an _incredibly_ rude thing to say. Vernon should be ashamed of himself.

“As you wish. Where is miss Potter?” Lily almost spoke up again, but then thought better of it.

“She's in her room. Grounded for misbehaving, I'm afraid. She's been a very naughty girl.”

“I would expect nothing less from the child of James Potter,” the woman, Minerva, said. “Do go and fetch her, please.”

“Dudley, unlock her door and bring the brat out,” Vernon ordered. Lily was surprised that he gave in so quickly. She was also suddenly very nervous. She stood, trying to clean herself up as well as she could. It was hard to do when you haven’t showered in almost a month. She hoped the smell of her room wouldn’t scare Dudley off when he opened the door.

Lily backed away from the door, and sat down on her bed, trying to look innocent. She heard the lock slide, and then the door opened. Dudley stood there, looking more terrified than Lily had ever seen him, and suddenly she was a lot more worried than she had been before. She came out of her room, squinting in the bright light, and took a second to get her bearings. Dudley’s nose wrinkled as she passed, confirming her worst fears.

She turned to head towards the kitchen, and saw Uncle Vernon and Aunt petunia sitting together on the same side of the table. Petunia looked just as pale as Dudley, while Vernon looked furious. His veins were ready to pop out of his head, and Lily was quite sure that these visitors had just secured her a lifetime imprisonment in her cupboard. Both wrinkled their noses as Lily approached, despite this situation being entirely their fault.

She walked into the room and gasped. The two strangers, who had so rudely entered the Dursley home, were sitting in two comfortable looking recliners on the other side of the table, drinking tea from an immaculate porcelain tea set that Lily was sure didn't come from this house.

The older lady, who Lily knew now was Minerva, flushed red when she saw Lily. She was wearing a long, green gown and a tall, pointy hat of the same color. Albus, the ancient looking man with a beard that dangled down below the table, simply sat there, wearing his purple robes. His eyes seemed to twinkle as he watched Lily. Neither, thankfully, looked disgusted by her. Well, they _did,_ but not for the reasons she had been worried about.

“Albus, look at her,” McGonagall said with fury in her voice, “Look what they've done to her, she's half dead.”

“Now see here-” Vernon interjected.  
“I suggest you keep your arguments to yourself, Mr. Dursley,” Albus said coolly. “She is clearly underfed.” Albus took a stick out from his sleeve, waved it over the table, and a dozen sandwiches appeared on a silver platter. Petunia whined, and Vernon's shade turned even darker. “Come, dear, eat. Have your fill.” He waved his stick again, and another comfy looking chair appeared between her relatives and the newcomers.

_Magic,_ Lily thought, _it actually is real_. Lily pinched herself, hoping that she wasn’t in fact, dreaming. That didn’t solve the possibility of her actually being _dead,_ but it was a good start.

Lily hesitated, and Minerva spoke once more, “Look, Albus she's terrified. I never should have let you leave her with these people.”

“I agree,” Lily spoke. She wouldn’t normally have been so daring, but weeks of captivity had clearly affected her sanity. If these people didn’t take them with her, she would definitely be locked back in. But at least they might let her shower first, based off of Vernon’s reaction. Nobody seemed to hear her, though, which was to be expected after a month of not using her voice.

“I believed it to be the best option, Minerva. I see that I was wrong.” Albus stared directly at her relatives as he spoke, and even Vernon cringed under his gaze. “We will be taking Hazel with us when we leave, Dursleys. I doubt she shall be returning. I will arrange another home for her.”

Lily finally made it to her seat, and she could feel more tears coming on. It wasn’t from relief, or even from nerves. Her legs hurt fiercely from their underuse. If this day ended up being too long, she didn’t know if she’d be able to move the next one. In fact, she hadn’t really heard what the old man had said at all. She was too focused on the platter of sandwiches that lay before her. She took one, scarfing it down.

Vernon snorted, and even managed a smile. Lily hoped he wasn’t about to embarrass himself again. He had already been incredibly rude.

“Be my guest,” he answered, “It'll be much easier without another mouth to feed, or need I remind you that you dropped her off, completely unannounced, I might add, in the middle of the bloody night in November of all months? Hmm? What do you have to say to that?”

“I would say,” Albus answered, “That I expected Miss Potter to be treated with love and kindness, or, failing that, to at least be well-fed and taken care of. Clearly I was wrong, and for that, I will never be sorry enough.” Albus turned to Lily, who had started on her third sandwich. “None-the-less, I am sorry, Hazel.”

Lily swallowed, and then used her voice at normal volume for what felt like the first time.

“It’s Lily, Sir. That’s my middle name.” Minerva looked torn between wanting to cry, and wanting to tear into her relatives. Albus simply smiled.

“Of course, of course. Lily it is, then. Have you eaten your fill?” Albus asked the question as Lily shoveled down her fifth sandwich.

Lily considered this for a moment, then answered “Yes, sir. Where are we going?”

“Well, first, Minerva will be taking you to fetch your school supplies while I return to the castle. I have some letters I need to send. Then, I believe, you'll be going to your new home, although it may not be today.”

“The castle, sir?”

“Yes, Lily. The Hogwarts Castle. I’m afraid we can’t let you stay the rest of the summer, as it’s quite against the rules to even bring you there just for today, but I think we can get away with at least that much.”

Minerva stood, while Albus remained sitting. She offered her hand to Lily, which she accepted, standing up herself, legs screaming in resistance. Minerva turned back to Albus.

“Are you coming, Headmaster?”

“Not at the moment, no. I think I'd like a private word with the Dursleys, first.” Petunia was practically crying, and even Vernon looked scared, now. Minerva pulled Lily along, who could only stare in disbelief. She didn’t know what the couple had to be fearful of. They had never gotten in trouble with the law before, and a single old man didn’t seem likely to do much. Lily had been through much worse.

“Do you have any things you'd like to grab, Miss Potter?” Minerva asked as she stopped by the cupboard, glaring at the small room angrily.

Lily crouched under the bed, digging around. She came back up holding several notebooks. Minerva looked sad again, and glared back towards the Dursleys. Minerva reached out for the notebooks, and Lily handed them over.

“Why don't you go freshen up, Miss Potter. You seem like you could use it.”

Lily quite agreed, and breathed a sigh of relief. As she turned on the hot shower and hopped in, she had never felt so good in her life. Even her legs were starting to feel better. She grabbed the soap, lathering up.

Five minutes later, having finished her shower, she threw on some clean clothes (more of Dudley’s ill fitting hand-me-downs), and went back into the hallway. She could hear Uncle Vernon yelling about something, but the kitchen door was now closed. McGonagall was flipping through Lily's notebooks.

“Professor-,” Lily began. Minerva looked up and smiled. She had meant to be angry about the older woman flipping through her private notes, but thought better of offending the first person to show her any kindness.

“Ah, there you are. Shall we be going?”

Before she could answer, McGonagall took Lily by the hand again, and led her outside onto the perfectly kept yard. Lily normally didn’t like her hand being held this much, but she didn’t feel like arguing while she was being rescued.

“Now, just follow my lead, Miss Potter, when I turn. Close your eyes if it helps, and try to keep your balance. You may feel a little sick your first time apparating, that's perfectly normal, but we'll be in Diagon Alley in a flash.”

“Apparating?” Lily had never heard the word before.

“You’ll understand once you experience it.”

Lily nodded, and started to spin when Minerva did. She felt a slight pinch in her midsection. Everything went dark for a moment, and Lily closed her eyes out of fear.

When she opened them, was standing in the middle of a large street, crowded with people, all dressed in the same strange clothes that Albus and Minerva were in, albeit all sorts of different colors.

Lily took a moment to observe her surroundings. Every building seemed to be a different shape and color, although they generally looked sturdy. There was a green bookshop, a large, purple pub, a bank made entirely of marble and, Lily thought, gold, and the most beautiful thing Lily had ever seen in her life.

“Well, what do you think, Miss Potter?” Minerva asked, smiling at Lily's expression.

Lily pointed at Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlor. “I think I want a sundae, Minerva.”


	3. A Brand New World

Ten minutes later, Lily was halfway through her sundae. McGonagall, as Lily learned she preferred to be called by students, was content watching the girl eat, although she had ordered a smaller ice cream for herself. It was long gone by now, but she didn't mind waiting.

Lily paused on her eating, biting her lip. “Professor, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, Miss Potter. What is it?”

“How much did you read of my stories?” Lily looked up nervously. McGonagall, for her part, looked puzzled.

“Not much, Miss Potter. I was simply flipping through them to kill the time. I'm sorry if you didn't want anybody reading them.”

Lily brightened up. “It's okay, professor.” Lily didn't actually think it was okay, as she didn't like to share them, but if she hadn't read them then there was no harm done. Lily went back to shoveling ice cream into her mouth. She had just eaten, sure, but she was also still hungry.

“Now I must ask you a question, Miss Potter. How much do you know of Hogwarts?”

Lily paused again, spoon almost to her mouth. “I'm sorry, professor, but the first time I even heard of it was when I received your letter.”

“I thought so.” McGonagall looked irritated again.

Lily looked at her bowl, sad at the ever-decreasing amount of sweetness. “Professor? Why didn't you lot come sooner if you knew about the cupboard?” Lily kept eating, but the joy was mostly gone out of the activity.

McGonagall looked ashamed. “I'm afraid I never knew. When I'm sending out the acceptance letters for Hogwarts, I have a self-writing quill that does most of the work for me. The letters then get passed on to the headmaster, who double-checks and seals the envelopes. If I had noticed, or even known before then, I would have come much earlier. As soon as I received your response, it was all the headmaster could do to keep me from going right then.”

Lily dropped her spoon into the empty bowl, thinking. She had been worried they simply hadn't cared, but at the very least, she could forgive McGonagall for not knowing. The headmaster, on the other hand, must have noticed and known. She'd have to ask him later, if she could work up the courage again.

For now, Lily looked back up at McGonagall. “Where do we go now, professor?”

“Professor Dumbledore gave me your Gringotts key, but I think I’ll cover the expenses myself. Consider eleven years’ worth of presents.” McGonagall looked down at Lily, and she smiled at the woman, assuming it was the right thing to do. McGonagall smiled back, and then stood up. “Come, Miss Potter, we'll stop at Madame Malkin's first, I think.”

After a short walk, Lily found herself entering the tailoring shop alongside the professor. Madame Malkin was a squat, smiling witch, who perked up immediately upon seeing Professor McGonagall.

“Why, Minerva!” Madame Malkin said, “I haven't seen you in ages!”

Professor McGonagall gave a sharp nod. “Indeed. I must thank you again for my new dress robes. I thought about coming in personally, but your mail-order has never failed me.”

“Well, there's no need to be a stranger, you know! You're more than welcome to write me for more than just a set of robes.”

“I will keep that in mind. For now, though, I think it best to get to business.”

“Business?” Madame Malkin looked puzzled.

“Yes. Young Lily here needs to be fitted for her Hogwarts robes. She starts this year.”

Madame Malkin looked down at Lily and smiled. “Why, Minerva, I didn't know you had a grandchild. And such a cute one, too!”

The professor looked uncomfortable. “Yes, well-”

“Boy,” Madame Malkin shouted. A young man came into the room from the back carrying a set of measurements and holding a needle cushion. “Be a dear, and get Miss Lily fitted for her school robes while I catch up with Minerva. Make them a little large, I think. She looks due for a growth spurt any day now.”

Professor McGonagall sniffed, but made no objections. The boy bowed, and waved for Lily to follow him into the back. Lily was anxious, but followed him anyway. She didn't want to disappoint Professor McGonagall.

The assistant motioned for her to stand in front of a mirror, and then stretched out her arms for her as he got started. At the mirror next to her stood another boy, clearly of the same age, who was being fitted by another assistant, this one a girl. _She must be Girl,_ Lily thought, smiling.

“What are you smirking about?” The boy next to her was sneering. His blond hair was combed and swept backwards. He stared at Lily's hair, and she felt herself looking away. She checked the mirror, making sure her scar was still covered. “You must be a Weasley.”

Lily looked over at the boy, confused. “A what?”

The boy scoffed. “I suppose not, then. You must excuse me. Your hair made it seem so.”

Lily rubbed a lock of her hair, frowning. Boy lowered her arm back into place, annoyed. “What's wrong with my hair?”

“Well, nothing, I guess. My father just told me to watch out for the red hair clan. Don't want to mix with their sort, after all.” The boy reached out his hand, offering a shake. “Draco Malfoy. And you are?” Lily noticed Girl didn’t do anything to stop him from making her job more difficult, although she certainly looked agitated.

“Lily,” Lily said, pointedly refusing his handshake, sniffing to make the point clear. Malfoy frowned, but he pulled his hand back.

“Well, I suppose I can't blame you, comparing you to a Weasley. I'll give you this one.” The boy left his spot in front of the mirror, heading towards the exit, his fitting finished. “If you're lucky, I'll see you at Hogwarts.”

Ten minutes later, Lily was leaving the store with the professor, school robes obtained. Lily was still uncomfortable.

“Professor?”

“Hmm?”

“What's a Weasley?” Lily looked up to watch the professor.

“They're a pure-blood family. They have a few boys attending Hogwarts currently, and I think one more entering this year. They're mostly good people, although the twins can be a menace.” The professor looked down at Lily. “Why do you ask?”

“That boy in the shop said I look like one.”

McGonagall smiled. “Well, I suppose the hair is similar. They all have red hair, just like you, although theirs is a lighter shade.”

An hour later, Lily and McGonagall had purchased most of the necessary supplies, and found themselves outside of Ollivander's.

“Well, Lily, this is where I leave you. I shall return once you are finished. Receiving your first wand is a special thing, and Ollivander prefers having it be one-on-one. Just wait for me here if you finish first.”

Lily nodded, trying to hide her nervousness. The professor smiled, and then walked down the street, leaving her alone. Lily gulped, pushed open the door, and entered.

The store had rows upon rows of boxes, Lily saw, but seemed to be void of people. Just as she was about to call out, and old man walked around the corner. He smiled upon seeing Lily, who was biting her lip again.

“Ah, yes, Miss Potter, welcome, welcome.” He rubbed his hands together as he looked at her, smiling broadly.

“How did you know my name?” Lily asked. She raised a hand to her forward to block her scar. Professor McGonagall had mentioned that it would give away her identity.

Ollivander chuckled. “How could I not? After all, I sold your parents their wands, and you look just like your mother.”

Lily smiled, deciding she liked Ollivander. Ollivander turned around, staring back at his rows upon rows of boxes.

“Tell me again, Miss Potter, what your first name is?”

“Hazel. But I like to go by Lily.”

Ollivander turned, a sad smile on his face. “Of course, of course. I understand. But Hazel, that is a good name, and I think it is that we shall try first.”

“Pardon?”

“Oh, yes, you see, Lily, choosing a wand is a special thing. A wand is the tool through which all of your magic will be funneled. But it isn't as simple as just choosing a wand, no, the wand itself must choose _you._ ” Ollivander began walking between the shelves, causing Lily to lose sight of him, but he continued talking. “Here at Ollivander's I use unicorn hair, dragon heartstring, and phoenix feather as the cores for my wands. But the wood, ah, the wood I use a wide variety. Your namesake, Hazel, happens to be one of them, and that is where we shall try first.” Ollivander walked back around the corner, carrying dozens of boxes in his arms. “I think sharing a common name will endear you to the wand, and make the process of choosing easier.”

Lily nodded, and accepted the first box he handed to her. She opened it, and looked at the wand within.

“Hazel, dragon heartstring, twelve and a half inches. Go on, give it a wave.”

Lily was nervous but took it into her hand. Before she could so much as flick her wrist, Ollivander had snatched it away.  
“No, no, no, that isn't right. Here, try this one, unicorn hair, ten inches.”

After dozens of attempts, with Ollivander having gone back to fetch more, Lily finally got to actually hold a wand. After putting it in her fingertips, she felt a warmth flow through her body, and the tip of the wand glowed with light.

Ollivander clapped and cheered. “Excellent, most excellent. Hazel, eleven and three-quarter inches, unicorn hair. Most excellent. And excellent timing too, I might add.”

Lily smiled, happier than she had ever been. She didn't know why, but the wand felt _good._ “Why is the timing excellent?”

“Because, my dear, from the time you entered my shop to the time you picked up that wand, exactly eleven minutes and forty-five seconds passed. Eleven and three-quarters, you see. Most excellent.” Ollivander took the wands from her once more, placed it back into the box, and then wrapped it before handing it to Lily for the final time. “Now, I must warn you, Hazel wood tends to be rather volatile if you can't keep your emotions in check. Getting angry, for instance, is liable to cause a more powerful discharge than you may have wanted. As well, unicorn hair is very reliable, but it can grow melancholy and die if you mishandle it. Keep true to yourself, and keep yourself in check, as well, and I think you will be a most excellent witch.” With that, Ollivander bowed, and returned to the back.

“Wait,” Lily called, “I haven't paid you yet.” Lily had been given coins by the professor, but hadn't yet handed them over.

Ollivander didn't respond, and didn't come back, even after Lily continued standing there for five minutes. She could see McGonagall outside through the window, but she wasn’t looking into the building. Lily tossed the coins onto Ollivander’s desk, then hurried out of the building.

Lily walked outside, turned towards the professor, then squealed, feet involuntarily doing a sort of dance. McGonagall stood there, smiling at the response, and holding a cage. The cage contained a beautiful, bright red cat, and had a ribbon adorned on top.

“Happy birthday,” McGonagall said. Lily ran up to the woman, and gave her a hug. McGonagall didn't return it, but did at least pat the girl on the head. They made their way back down the street, Lily carrying the cat with glee while McGonagall floated the rest of the bags in front of her.

“Do you have a name ready?” The professor asked, looking down towards her future student.

Lily thought for a moment, smiled, and said, “I think I'll name him Weasley, professor.”

McGonagall released a short laugh, caught completely by surprise, and looked slightly embarrassed. Lily didn't seem to notice, as she was too busy playing with Weasley. Every time she stuck a finger inside the cage, he'd swat at it with a paw. Lily thought that was the best thing she had even seen.

McGonagall stopped by a bright blue building. “One moment, Miss Potter. I'm going to have your luggage shipped to Hogwarts from here, then we'll apparate to Hogsmeade together.”

Lily frowned, looking at the cage. “Does Weasley need to be shipped too?”

McGonagall smiled. “No, I think Mr. Weasley can come along with us. Wait right here, I'll be back in a moment.” McGonagall went inside the building, leaving Lily alone once more. Lily chose to sit on the ground, placing Weasley's cage in her lap. She looked up just in time to spot the largest man she had ever seen coming out of the large pub from earlier. The man was big enough to be four normal men all huddled on top of each other, and had a thick beard that went down his chest. Lily's mouth involuntarily gaped open in surprise. The big man clearly saw her, as he was now waving and heading over.

“Why, 'ello there,” the big man leaned down, still towering over her, “You must be a Weasley.”

Lily shook her head. “No, sir, but my cat is.” She held up Weasley’s cage so he could get a good look.

The big man looked puzzled. Then, he looked down at the cat, and laughed. “Yes, I 'spose he is. Well, sorry to bother you, then, I’ll just be on me way.” The big man turned to walk away, but before he could, McGonagall came back out of the building. She looked taken aback at seeing the big man.

“Hagrid? What are you doing here?”

“Why, 'ello there professor! The headmaster sent me off on a little ol' errand for him.” Hagrid patted his large coat. “Got to make a lil' trip down to vault seven hundred and thirteen-”

McGonagall cut him off, “Hagrid, not in front of a student!” She motioned over Lily.

Hagrid looked down at Lily again. “Oh, she is a Weasley after all, then?”

McGonagall pursed her lips, then looked both ways to make sure nobody was listening. “No, Hagrid. This is Miss Potter. She starts this year.”

Hagrid's eyes went wide, and he looked down once more. Lily was trying to stand up, and he hoisted her onto her feet. “Sorry 'bout that, Miss Potter. I shoulda realized, you're the spittin' image of your mum.”

Lily beamed. “You knew my mum?”

Hagrid looked bashful. “Well, I wouldn't say we were too friendly, went to school at different times, y'see. But, yes-”

McGonagall cut him off again. “Hagrid, we really must be on our way.”

Hagrid stood up straighter. “Right, course. Me too, big business to be done, important business-”

“Goodbye, Hagrid. We shall see you at Hogwarts.” McGonagall led Lily away from Hagrid, who began walking in the other direction. McGonagall looked down at Lily, who was playing with Weasley again. “Hagrid is a friendly man, despite his appearance. I’m sure he’ll have you over for tea in no time.”

“I like him.” Lily hummed, dancing with Weasley’s cage.

“Just don't eat any of his cooking. His cakes are likely to break your teeth. Now, follow my lead once more, and we'll be in Hogsmeade.” McGonagall took Lily's arm, and they turned on the spot, Lily clutching tightly to Weasley's cage.

When they emerged in a comfy looking village, Weasley was understandably freaked out, but Lily made soothing sounds at him, and he calmed.

“Well, come on, Miss Potter. We're not too far from the castle, now.” McGonagall pointed out past the village, but Lily couldn’t see anything just yet. “Shouldn’t take too long.”

“Why didn't we just apparate to the castle, professor?”

“The castle has magical protections around it. Nobody can apparate into or out of it without those protections lifted. You can read all about it in Hogwarts: A History. It's one of the books we purchased earlier.”

Lily nodded her head, and they set off walking. “Can I let Weasley out, professor?”

“I'd wait until we reach the castle proper. Wouldn't want him wandering off.”

Lily frowned at that, but continued walking with the professor. She hummed as she walked along with the older woman, looking forward to being able to rest once they arrived. She took no notice of the town surrounding her, as McGonagall didn't seem to be interested in stopping. Instead she focused on making sure Weasley was comfortable.

The walk went by fairly quickly, although slightly longer than Lily would have liked. They had already been out for hours, and Lily’s legs were aching. She was also starving again. She had been about to complain, but when they rounded the corner, Lily found she was speechless.

Hogwarts was _beautiful._ She had never seen anything quite like it, not even in her old textbooks. The castle was utterly massive, framed on the top of a sheer cliff that bordered on a massive lake.

Once they reached the castle gates, they found Professor Dumbledore standing there to receive them.

“Ah, here at last. Good, good. Let us proceed to the great hall, we have some matters to discuss.” The older gentleman stepped aside to allow them to pass. McGonagall nodded, and led Lily into the entrance hall.

Lily tried not to gape too much; she had been doing that a lot today. But despite her best efforts, she was impressed by how beautiful the inside of the castle was. Stories above them, the stained-glass window spread colors all over the magnificent hallway, creating a great pattern over the tiles. Lily could see several doors, although all were closed, and a great stairway led upwards, though she couldn't see where they went.

Professor McGonagall nudged Lily, pointing towards a set of doors near the middle of the entrance hall. Dumbledore beat them to the doors, and opened them so he could step through as well. This room, Lily realized, was even more wonderful. Wide and spacious, with a series of tables lined up in four distinct columns. Green and silver banners hung from the rafters, along with the standard Hogwarts crest. The ceiling itself was clearly magical, enchanted to reflect the sky outside, which was currently showing the sun perfectly framed with cloud cover. It was in the process of setting, the long day almost complete.

Dumbledore waved his wands, and all the tables disappeared from the room. He waved it again, and a smaller table appeared, with three chairs spaced around it. He pulled one out, gesturing for Lily to sit, then did the same for McGonagall. He took his seat last.

“Would anyone like some tea?” Dumbledore asked while waving his wand. The same tea set from earlier today appeared, and Lily smiled, having finally realized what Uncle Vernon had been so angry about. She didn’t know how she hadn’t put it all together earlier, but she had been loopy from the confinement.

McGonagall passed, but Lily accepted, having three sugars in hers. She could hear Aunt Petunia scolding her for the choice, but seeing as how she wasn’t here to stop her, she did it anyway. Professor Dumbledore waved his wand again, and a platter of sandwiches appeared once more. Lily immediately reached for one, earning her a smile from the headmaster. McGonagall cleared her throat.

“Albus?”

“Yes, Professor?” The headmaster hummed, his hands placed against his chest.

“What shall we do with Lily?”

Dumbledore chuckled. “All in good time, Professor. For now, let her eat. I think she's earned it.” Lily happened to agree, and was taking full advantage of the opportunity.

Lily swallowed the last bite of her second sandwich, downing it with the last of her tea. She looked nervously between the two professors before reaching for a third sandwich.

After one last sandwich, totaling at six, Lily could not eat another. She stretched out the best she could. McGonagall had been tapping her fingers against the table since the third sandwich, clearly losing her patience. Dumbledore had simply hummed a song Lily didn't recognize.

“Well, Albus?” Professor McGonagall didn’t waste any time.

“Very well, then.” Dumbledore leaned forward, looking kindly at Lily. “First, the Dursleys, I think.” McGonagall looked angry at the mention of her relatives. Lily tried her best to look small.

“Please don't send me back, professor.” Lily didn't look at him as she said this, afraid she'd back down if she did. She didn’t think she could stand spending the rest of the summer locked away, eating slices of ham Dudley slid through the door frame.

“I had hoped to have you return for only a short time after each semester,” said the headmaster, leaning back in his chair. McGonagall looked like she was about to interrupt the headmaster at this admittance, but he continued anyway, “I don't know how much you were told about your parent's death, but from what I could glean from your Aunt and Uncle, it would seem you are under the impression that Lily and James Potter died in a car crash. Is this correct?”

Lily nodded, not looking at the professor. He sighed, but continued on anyway.

“I was afraid so. Before I go any further, Lily, I believe you are owed an explanation. Perhaps not the full truth, not yet. But I must give you something. You see, Lily, when your parents had you, they went into hiding from a powerful wizard. His name was Lord Voldemort.” Professor McGonagall flinched when the headmaster spoke this name, and he gave her a stern look. “As you can see, his very name is enough to strike fear into the hearts of your fellows. I do not, however, fear the use of his name. I would encourage you to do the same.”

Lily looked up finally. “Why was Voldemort after my parents, professor?” Dumbledore looked pleased that she had said it without hesitation, although Professor McGonagall shifted in her seat disapprovingly.

“It's not your parents he was after, I'm afraid. It was you.”

Lily paled. “Me, professor? Why?”

Dumbledore leaned forward again. “I'm afraid, Lily, that is not something you are ready to learn. Someday, for certain. For now, all that is important, is that he was after you. When he found you, your parents sacrificed themselves so that you might live. When Lord Voldemort attempted to strike you down, their love gave you a sort of protection, and his spell backfired onto himself. You were left with only a scar.” Dumbledore stared at her forehead, and Lily's hand rose to cover her scar, even though her hair had already been doing so.

“Albus,” Professor McGonagall interjected, “Should Miss Potter really be learning all this right now? She is only a child.”

The professor shook his head. “While that is true, Minerva, it is only fair. After all, every child she will be attending school with already knows the story.” Dumbledore turned back to Lily. “I cannot share all the details with you right now, Lily, try to understand, but after you parent's death, we needed to arrange another home for you. Your parents had left a suggestion, of course, but they couldn't be used. The best option was the Dursleys, and that is where I had Hagrid bring you.”

“Hagrid brought me, professor?” Lily looked confused.

“Hagrid brought you, yes, but it was I who left you on their doorstep. I had expected them to shelter their niece to the best of their ability. For that, I am sorry. Minerva tried to convince me otherwise, but I simply did not believe it possible that you would be mistreated. I thought, at worst, you might be received a little coldly compared to their own son. I did not expect the truth.”

Lily tried to bring herself to ask if he knew about the cupboard, but couldn't work up the courage. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, perhaps expecting the question, but he chose to move on anyway.

“As to why you had to be left there, Lily, it is due to the protection that your parents had left on you. Specifically, that of your mother. By sacrificing her life for you, she left you immune to harm by Lord Voldemort. This remained true, until today.”

Professor McGonagall frowned. “What do you mean until today, Albus?”

Dumbledore leaned back again, looking stern. “The protection placed upon Lily would have stated until she became an adult, provided she returned to the Dursleys at least once a year. This is why I had hoped to have you return over the summer, if even for only a day. I stayed behind today, in order to convince them. I, unfortunately, failed to do so, although I am certain you believe otherwise.”

“Please, Albus,” McGonagall interrupted again, “What do you mean _until today_?”

“They have renounced Lily, I’m afraid. My arguments managed the opposite of their intent. They no longer consider you family and have, thus, broken the protection.” Dumbledore looked down, looking genuinely ashamed. McGonagall looked taken aback. Lily, for her part, felt a little angry.

“But, Albus, surely the protection couldn't have just broken like that? Not after what her mother did for her.” McGonagall sounded desperate.

“Alas, Minerva, I'm afraid so. You see, magic like her protection is very specific. Lily Potter wanted to protect her daughter, Hazel, from Lord Voldemort. She wanted her daughter to live. And so, young Miss Potter here did, in fact, live. The protection was never meant to last. We managed to prolong it past its natural lifespan by having Lily live with her mother's blood relative, but it would only ever work while Lily considered it a home. Between Lily's excitement to be free, and the Dursleys giving her up, the lifeline has been severed.

McGonagall looked shell-shocked, speechless. Lily felt glum, too, although she didn't fully understand. She also still felt angry.

“Is the protection already gone, Albus?” McGonagall asked.

“I do not know. We cannot know unless Lord Voldemort himself attempts to lay a hand on her. It may already be gone; it may still remain for a few months. It may even last until her next birthday. I hope we never find out.”

McGonagall's questions seemed to be satisfied, although she herself certainly didn't look so. Lily was trying her best to hold in her feelings, but found she was failing.

“Earlier today, professor, you said I wouldn't have to return,” Lily dared, “You said I'd be going elsewhere. But you always intended to send me back.”

Dumbledore looked her in the eyes, and she could see genuine remorse. “Yes, Lily, I did. But I wouldn't have left you there unattended again. If not I, then somebody would have been sent to check on you. Every day, as long as you remained there.”

“That wouldn't have stopped them, professor, you don't understand,” Lily cried, “They only would have been worse once you were gone.”

“Be that as it may, Lily, it matters not anymore. You will not be returning. But that brings us to the matter at hand, as Professor McGonagall requested earlier. You cannot stay here, as much as I would love to have you. Hogwarts has never allowed a student to stay over the summer.”

Lily looked down, tears coming to her eyes. McGonagall reached across the table, patting her hand. “And where will she be going instead, Albus?”

The headmaster's eyes twinkled again. “I only had the opportunity to send out one correspondence. While I was considering who to try next, I received a Floo transmission from the first. Lily will be staying with the Longbottoms for the rest of the summer, and perhaps the next after, if she wishes to return. If not, then I shall find another.”

McGonagall smiled, and gave Lily's hand another pat. “The Longbottoms are excellent people, Lily. Nothing to be afraid of. Augusta is a personal friend of mine.”

Despite the reassurance, Lily couldn't help but feel nervous, and chose not to respond.

Dumbledore smiled. “It is only natural to feel a little nervous, Lily.” He rose from his seat, waving his wand, and causing his seat, the tea set, the sandwich platter, and the table to disappear. “Today, they are celebrating young Neville’s birthday. We shall bring you tomorrow, instead.” The headmaster waved his wand, and a comfortable looking bed appeared, adorned in gold and red. McGonagall smiled at this, although Lily didn't know why.

“I know the room is very spacious for one, but we are already breaking protocol by having you here at all. McGonagall shall see that you are comfortable, and then we shall give you the rest of the night to rest. For now, I must return to work.” Dumbledore headed back to the doors, closing them behind him. Lily was a little annoyed that she didn’t get a change to question the headmaster more.

McGonagall rose from her seat, disappearing it with a wave of her wand. “I believe I shall see if your luggage has arrived, Lily. We’ll want to send it on ahead to the Longbottoms, it’ll make our trip tomorrow much easier. You may want to let Weasley out of his cage now.” The woman still looked pale and worried, but she tried to give Lily a comforting smile.

Lily smiled back, attending to the cat as McGonagall left the room. Weasley ran around the room, exploring it. Lily sat on her bed, watching him. She leaned back onto the mattress, staring at the ceiling. The sun was setting outside now, and it was reflected on the ceiling as well

Lily turned, looking for Weasley, seeing him on the floor a few feet away. She called for him, and he looked in her direction, but did not move from his spot. “Please?” Lily asked. He looked at her a moment more, then set about cleaning himself. Lily let her head fall back, disappointed.

_I hope the Longbottoms are better,_ she thought. Despite the reassurances of Professor McGonagall, she still felt worried. She had only known the woman for less than a day. Sure, she bought her a cat, but Lily was fairly certain that was only because she felt so guilty. Lily yawned, and stretched out on the bed.

Despite having done nothing but sleep for the past few weeks, Lily found that she was exhausted. She tried to fight off the urge to sleep, when Weasley hopped onto the bed, and settled onto her chest. Lily, smiled, feeling his warmth. She scratched Weasley on the top of his head, and pet him along the length of his body. Weasley purred in response. She didn't want to move him, but she was getting very tired. Resigning herself to her fate, Lily closed her eyes, and let sleep take her.

For the first time in her life, Lily managed to sleep peacefully. Her dream consisted of a princess escaping a dungeon, only to find herself in the magnificent halls of Hogwarts.


	4. The Longbottom Estate

Lily awoke early the next morning, having slept soundly. The ceiling was beginning to glow along with the sunrise outside. She yawned, stretching until her hand bumped something. She had knocked into Weasley, who had moved off to the side. She scratched his belly, and he rolled over to give her better access.

Lily looked around the great hall. There was no sign of her luggage, although a set of school robes had been laid out for her. Lily sat up, stretching. Weasley sat up as well, meowing at her. He pawed at her hand, and she scratched his head.

They were still sitting on the bed when Professor Dumbledore entered the room, wearing fancy set of purple robes.

“Ah, excellent, you are up. I'll give you a moment to get ready, and then we shall head off.” Lily was a little annoyed that he hadn’t knocked before barging in to wake her. The professor waved his wand, and a bathtub appeared in the great hall, filled with steamy water. “When you are ready, simply leave the hall. Professor McGonagall shall be waiting for you right outside the room, and she will take you to the Longbottom Estate. I shall see you next term, Miss Potter. You can leave everything as it is, when you are done. I shall take care of it later.” Dumbledore bowed, and then left the room. Lily called out, wanting to ask more questions, but he didn’t seem to hear.

Lily scratched Weasley behind the ear one more time before she got up. Thirty minutes later, the water was cool, and Lily was putting on her school robes. She had used her old clothes to dry herself off, as Professor Dumbledore had forgotten a towel. When she picked up the tie, she realized she had no idea how to put one on, and pocketed it instead. She slipped on her shoes, and opened Weasley's cage for the feline. Weasley dutifully obeyed, and she closed it behind him.

With everything packed, and that only including Weasley (for she had decided to leave the old Dursley clothes behind), she exited into the entrance hall.

Professor McGonagall was coming down the stairs when Lily exited. She was wearing a green robe once again, albeit a different shade from the previous day. Lily waved to her, and she nodded. Once she reached Lily, she gave her a quick look, eyes seizing at the neck.

“Where is your tie, Miss Potter?”

Lily looked down, bashful. “In my pocket, professor. I don't know how to put it on. My old school didn't require them for girls.”

McGonagall sniffed. “Well, we do here at Hogwarts. But seeing as the semester has not yet started, I shall let it pass, for now. I'm certain Augusta will instruct you.” McGonagall began walking towards the gateway. She seemed a lot less friendly with the new day. “Come along, Miss Potter. Augusta will be expecting you.”

Lily trotted to catch up with her, Weasley's cage bouncing against her legs. “Will they be up this early, professor?”

“I am certain Augusta will be. I'm not even sure that woman sleeps at all.”

“Is it just her that lives there?”

“No, her grandson Neville is there as well. He's your age, and will also be attending Hogwarts this year.”

Lily frowned. “I hope he's better than Dudley.”

McGonagall shuddered. “I don't think it's possible for him to match the horrendous capacity of that creature.”

Lily smiled. “He wasn't too bad at the very end. He seemed genuinely worried for me.”

“Then perhaps he can grow to be better than his parents.” McGonagall seemed doubtful, and Lily couldn’t quite blame her.

Lily remained silent for the rest of the walk across the castle grounds, and McGonagall didn't seem likely to break it. Once they reached the edge of the grounds, walking through the gate, McGonagall stopped suddenly.

“I'm sorry, Miss Potter, I almost forgot.” McGonagall reached into her pockets, and dug out a small key, placing it in Lily’s hand. “This, Miss Potter, is your Gringotts key. Simply present this and your personal wand when you visit Gringotts to get access to your vault. Do not lose it, it is _very_ important.”

Lily pocketed the key as she tried to keep up with the professor, who had resumed walking without checking back on her. Lily was starting to get annoyed. They only went a few more steps before McGonagall stopped again, much to Lily's frustration. McGonagall stuck her arm out for Lily to take.

“Come, we can apparate from here.”

Lily took it, frowning. “If we can leave from here, then why couldn't we just show up here as well?”

“It's best to apparate with a clear image in mind, especially with side-along apparition. I'm more familiar with the Three Broomsticks than I am the edge of Hogwarts.” McGonagall began turning once she finished, and Lily turned with her, not quite satisfied with the answer.

In a flash, they were suddenly standing before a large house. It wasn't quite a manor, but it was almost there. It was certainly larger than the Dursley house, and all the windows were currently dark. There was an elaborate statue sitting on the porch, as well. Lily hoped their closets would be larger than her old one.

“Well, Miss Potter, this is where I leave you,” McGonagall said, moving her arm away from Lily's hand.

“Professor? But there's nobody here.” Lily looked around nervously for any sign of life.

“Don't be silly, Potter. Augusta is sitting right there.” McGonagall pointed at the statue, and Lily gasped.

Lily had assumed the figure had been a lifeless statue, but then it waved at her. The elderly woman was wearing a ghastly dress of faded greens and browns, and adorned it all with a large, stuffed bird on top of her head. Lily was very frightened.

“I will see you again when the semester starts. Goodbye, Miss Potter.”

Before Lily could protest, McGonagall had turned once more, and was gone. She turned back to the look at Mrs. Longbottom, who was standing up. Lily stood rooted to the spot, horrified as the vulture approached her, cursing McGonagall’s name for leaving her.

“Where is your tie, girl?” _Of course that’s the first thing everybody notices,_ Lily thought. Lily froze, trying to remember where she had put it.

“In my p-p-p-p-p-p-pocket,” Lily stammered. Lily reached in, and shakily handed it to her. Augusta took it from her, and tied it around her neck. She left it very tight around Lily’s neck. Lily immediately settled on loosening it as soon as the old woman turned around.

“There's no need to be so frightened, dear. I'm as friendly as they come.” She tried to smile at Lily, but it only gave her the impression of a predator flashing their teeth at their prey. “That being said, if you're going to wear your school uniform out of season, then you might as well wear it _properly.”_

_“_ I didn't know how to tie it,” Lily managed.

Augusta Longbottom frowned. “Well, we'll fix that, don't you worry. Let's go have a spot of tea for now, I think. I'll make breakfast once Neville is up.” Mrs. Longbottom took Weasley's cage from Lily, and began hauling it inside. Lily quickly tugged the tie to give her neck more space. “Professor Dumbledore sent your luggage on ahead last night. It's in your room, if you'd like to go change your clothes.”

Lily began walking up the porch, catching up the old woman. “The school robes are all I have,” she mumbled. She tugged at the tie again, already having developed yet another nervous habit.

Mrs. Longbottom didn't look back as she entered the house. “No matter, I can fetch you some new clothes later today. I'm heading out to fetch Neville's school supplies. He’ll show you around while I’m gone, although there really isn’t much to see.”

Lily paused in the doorway. “He won't be going with you?” Lily had been left alone too many times with Dudley. She could only hope Neville wasn’t as mean.

“No. I was gonna drag him along, but I'll leave him here with you instead. He'll enjoy that more. How do you take your tea?” She asked the question as she waved her wand around, a tea set zooming across the kitchen. It began to fill itself automatically while the other items arranged themselves neatly and properly.

“Three sugars, please.”

Mrs. Longbottom sniffed. “I'll be knocking you down to two, I think. More proper that way.”

Lily didn't argue. She was still too scared to take a seat. This woman seemed a lot more likely to strike than Aunt Petunia had.

When the older woman turned around to carry the teapot to the table, she raised an eyebrow at Lily. Taking the hint, she also took a seat. Mrs. Longbottom handed the cup over to Lily, who took a sip graciously, lest she offend her host. It was far less sweet than Lily was accustomed to, but she put on a smile anyway. Mrs. Longbottom nodded in approval, and then sat down to drink her own tea.

“So. Have you tried your wand out yet?” She said this as if she expected Lily to admit she had already mastered every subject.

Lily shook her head, unable to live up to those expectations. “I thought we weren't supposed to do magic outside of school, Mrs. Longbottom?”

The woman scoffed. “Of course not, but you don't receive the official warning until after the first year. I can teach you an easy spell, if you'd like. I already taught it to Neville, although he took significantly longer than you will, I think.”

Lily considered it, then pulled her wand out. “If you're willing to teach me, then I'll give it a try, I suppose.” She didn’t think it would hurt to at least have a bare minimum amount of magical knowledge. She settled on going over her textbooks before the semester officially started, since she was apparently allowed to practice before the first year.

Mrs. Longbottom nodded. “Good girl. Now, just hold it out in front of you, there you go, just like that, and say 'Lumos.' Make sure you pronounce it correctly; annunciation is very important in spell-craft.” Lily was a little annoyed. How could anyone screw up such an easy word?

“Lumos,” Lily repeated. A bright light emanated from the tip of her wand, and Lily looked up in excitement. Despite how easy it was, Lily couldn’t help but feel proud at having gotten it so quickly. She had always been a fast learner, but her previous teachers had always scolded her anyway if she didn’t immediately get something on the first attempt.

“Good,” Mrs. Longbottom said. “It took Neville a few tries, but it's an extremely easy spell. Likely one of the first they'll teach you.”

Lily looked down, frowning. “Mrs. Longbottom? How do I make it stop?” The wand was still creating the same light. Lily was worried it would just do it forever.

“You can call me Augusta, dear. And just say 'nox,' that'll put the light out. If you can't speak for whatever reason, then dropping the wand will snuff it out as well.”

Lily repeated the word, and the light extinguished itself. She went to ask another question, but then Weasley interrupted from his cage, upset at being forgotten. Augusta turned to look at him.

“I forgot about the cat. Why don't you take him up to your room and let him out? You both need to get accustomed to the place. It'll be up on the third floor, turn right, third door on the left. Neville's is right across from you, try not to wake him up. The lad was up late last night celebrating with the rest of the family.”

“What were you celebrating, Mrs. Longbottom?” Dumbledore had mentioned it the previous day, but that had completely slipped Lily’s mind.

“Augusta. His birthday was just a couple of days ago, and we had the whole family over yesterday to celebrate it. A right ordeal that was, I thought it’d never end.” Mrs. Longbottom went back to drinking her tea, staring out the window, and clearly not paying attention.

Lily stood, picking up the mewling cage. She went into the entryway, and up the flights of stairs, making sure to take a right at the third floor. She opened the door for the second room on the left at first, but it was thankfully an empty office space. Everything was covered in dust, and Lily closed the door before she disturbed anything. This time, she opened the correct door, and was rewarded with the sight of her luggage.

Lily closed the door behind her, and set the cage down on the bed. She went to open the cage, when she spotted something moving on top of the wardrobe. She froze, staring at the spot. She gripped her wand, pointing it towards the spot. If she was going to die, she was at least going to die having blindly the creature, the only spell she knew being Lumos.

Lily moved slowly towards the wardrobe, dragging her trunk alongside her. She put the trunk down in front of the wardrobe, then stood on top. She poked her head above the wardrobe, intending to get a look.

Lily screamed “Lumos!” and fell backwards off of the trunk, after something jumped at her. She fled towards the door, then turned around, pointing her wand wildly, the light only really serving to blind herself.

There was a toad sitting on top of her trunk. A big one, for sure. But just a harmless toad. Lily let a laugh escape her, as she slunk down onto the ground, back against the door. “Just a toad,” she told herself. Her wand rolled from her fingertips, the light extinguishing.

There was knock on the door, and Lily jumped again. She snatched up her wand, pointing it at the door, determined to fight off the second monster.

“Hazel?” Mrs. Longbottom called through the door, “Are you okay?”

Lily got up in a hurry, and opened the door for the old lady, breathless and embarrassed. “I'm sorry, Mrs. Longbottom, there was a toad in my room, and it jumped at me.” Lily pointed over at her trunk, which the toad was still sitting upon.

Mrs. Longbottom laughed. “That'll be Trevor. He's Neville's toad, the boy just got him, and he's already lost him five times. I'll be taking him for you.” Mrs. Longbottom walked across the room, and picked Trevor up. As she passed Lily, she said, “And it's Augusta, dear.” She crossed the hall and knocked on the opposite door. “Neville, get up. Your toad escaped again.” Lily thought it was awful rude that she was waking him after instructing Lily to be careful.

Lily heard a groan come from the other room, and after a few seconds the door opened. A boy stood there wearing blue-striped pajamas. He yawned, rubbing at his eyes. “Thanks, Gran,” Neville said.

“Keep a better handle on your toad, Neville. I won't go replacing him if you truly lose him. Think about what your father would do.” That seemed like a strange thing to say. The worst Neville had done was lose a toad.

“Yes, Gran.” Neville took the toad from his grandmother, then finally noticed Lily standing on the opposite side of the hallway. He gasped, and nearly dropped Trevor. Lily yipped, for her part, equally startled by the boy's reaction. Mrs. Longbottom laughed.

“I'm sorry, Neville, I forgot to tell you yesterday in all the excitement. We'll have a guest staying with us from now on.” Mrs. Longbottom gestured to Lily and then back to Neville. Lily was wondering how someone could just invite some stranger to live in her house without telling the other person that already lived there. “Neville, this is Hazel Potter. Hazel, this is Neville Longbottom. Better get used to each other. I'll see you both downstairs for breakfast in thirty minutes.” Mrs. Longbottom walked off, leaving Neville staring across the hall at Lily, holding his toad, who was desperately trying to escape. Lily waved at the boy, trying to cure her own nervousness. He did not return it.

“Uh,” Lily said, “Do you want to see my cat?” It was the only thing Lily could think to say, and it was only fair after her own meeting with the boy’s toad.

Neville looked at the cage sitting behind Lily, still sitting on the bed. “What's his name?”

“His name is Weasley.” Lily turned around, heading for the cage. Weasley swatted at her hand as she tried to unlock the cage, which made her smile.

“That's a weird name for a cat.” Lily poked at Weasley's face with her finger, and he tried to chew on it.

“Trevor is a weird name for a toad,” Lily retorted.

Neville looked down at his toad, trying to avoid her eyes. “I didn't name him. He was my uncle's. He gave him to me to celebrate getting into Hogwarts.”

Lily felt bad for the boy, who was clearly disappointed by his pet. “I named him Weasley because he's red.”

Neville looked confused. “I don't get it.”

“Neither do I, but Professor McGonagall thought it was funny.” Lily opened the cage, and Weasley hopped out. He strode over to Neville, walking around him, eyeing the toad.

Neville gulped. “Cats don't eat toads, do they?”

Lily crossed her arms, thinking. “I don't think so?” She answered. “I've never owned a cat before. It was a birthday present.”

“Oh. Happy birthday, then. When was it?” Neville held Trevor a little higher as Weasley tried to reach for him.

“Yesterday,” Lily hummed, picking Weasley up so he'd stop bothering Neville.

“Oh. Mine was just the day before. The 30th.” Lily suddenly remembered the conversation with Professor Dumbledore, and felt a little embarrassed. Neville put Trevor down inside his room, and then closed the door to keep him in. Or maybe to keep Weasley out. “All I got was a Remembrall from my gran.”

“What's a Remembrall?” Lily asked.

“I'll show you later. I better get a shower in before breakfast, or Gran'll be angry.” Lily was suddenly very thankful that Dumbledore had arranged a bath for her. Neville started to walk away, then stopped, looking back at Lily. “Why are you wearing school robes?”

Lily blushed, and then looked down at her feet. “They're all I have,” she answered.

“Oh,” Neville said. “I'm sorry.” Lily couldn't tell if he meant it for her, or for himself, having asked the question. Neville simply decided to continue on his way, going into the room right next to his door, across from the dusty office. “The third-floor bathroom is in here,” he called. “There's another on the first floor, too. It's in the back, near the parlor. It doesn’t have a shower, though.” Neville closed the door before Lily could thank him, and seconds later she could hear the shower start.

Lily looked back into her own room, and Weasley swatted at her face. She huffed, but she let him down. He ran down the hall, intent on exploring. Lily decided to start unpacking. She hauled her trunk onto her bed, and then opened it. Everything was packed away very neatly. Lily wouldn't have been able to do so herself, but McGonagall had packed it all in for her.

Lily removed all her school robes from the trunk, and then put them in the wardrobe. Then she took all her books and lined them up on the empty bookshelf they had left for her, making sure to put Hogwarts: A History on the desk. McGonagall had mentioned it specifically, so she meant to read it first.

That was all she had managed to do when she heard the bathroom door close. Neville was back into his own room before she had a chance to spot him. She decided to leave the rest of the trunk for later, and started downstairs.

She found Mrs. Longbottom sitting at the kitchen table, having another cup of tea while breakfast cooked itself. Pots and pans were all moving around on their own, handling the tasks of their own accord. Occasionally Mrs. Longbottom would glance at one from where she sat to make sure it was working properly, then she'd look right back at the newspaper she had unfolded in front of her. Lily could make out the words _The Daily Prophet_ across the front page. The rest she didn't care for. Uncle Vernon always punished her for trying to pay attention to the news.

“Where's Neville?” the older woman grunted out as Lily sat down.

“He's getting dressed, I think.”

“I thought I heard the shower running.” She took another sip from her cup, eyes scanning an article. “Gringotts had a robbery, it seems. Supposed to be impenetrable.” She scoffed.

Lily didn't know what to say, or even if she should break the silence at all. She elected to sit there and wait. When Neville made his way downstairs, she grunted a hello at him, and then he also joined the table in silence. He pointedly stared at the table, not daring to move his eyes anywhere else.

_I know that look_ , Lily thought. She had used it all the time, after all. Lily fidgeted with her hands nervously, biting her bottom lip, hoping that the professors hadn't chosen poorly once again.

Plates flew from the cabinets, landing in front of each person. Lily flinched at hers, but nobody else seemed to notice. Silverware followed soon after. Once the table was properly set, the pans came by, depositing equal portions of eggs and bacon on everybody's plates. Cups landed on the table, being filled by a pitcher of some orange liquid. Lily could tell it wasn't orange juice by the shade, but that didn't tell her what it actually was.

After all the food was deposited, the pans flew to the sink, and began washing themselves. Once everything was settled, Mrs. Longbottom sat her newspaper down and began eating. Neville followed suit. Lily picked up her own fork, staring at her plate. _Well, at least she feeds us better._

“Gran,” Neville began, “When are we heading to Diagon Alley?”

“I'm heading over after breakfast. I figured you'd stay here and show Lily around.”

Neville looked nervously at Lily, who smiled at him with equal enthusiasm.

Lily spoke first. “I could come with you both, if he wants to come.”

“Nonsense,” Mrs. Longbottom said, “You just went yesterday. If I had known you were coming sooner, I would have met you lot in Diagon Alley myself. We could have gotten all the shopping done at once.”

“Then I could stay alone. I really don't mind.” In fact, she was quite looking forward to it. It would give her time to read a book undisturbed.

Mrs. Longbottom looked at her. “Are you sure? Neville really doesn't mind.”

Neville nodded in agreement. Lily bit her lip as she thought. “But doesn't he need to get his wand?” She didn’t know how early wizards and witches were supposed to get them, having gotten her own just yesterday.

“Neville will be using his father's wand.” Neville fished said wand out of his robe in response, showing it to Lily. It looked around the same length, although it was a darker wood. Something didn’t seem quite right to Lily. She recalled what Mr. Ollivander had told her the previous afternoon.

Lily looked between the two, “But I thought the wand was supposed to choose the wizard? That's what Mr. Ollivander said.”

Neville looked between the two, clearly not knowing what to do. “I really don't mind using my dad's wand.”

Mrs. Longbottom looked at him. “She might be right, actually. I'm sure your dad would be proud that you want to use his wand, but it might be better for you to get your own.”

Neville sat in silence, thinking.

His grandmother sighed. “We can still keep the wand, Neville. But it might be better to get a new one, after all. Wouldn’t McGonagall scolding me for your poor marks. You’ll have to earn those on your own.”

Neville sat his father's wand on the table, thinking. “Okay,” he said after a long pause, “I'd probably just end up breaking it.”

His gran nodded in agreement; the matter settled. Lily felt bad. Mrs. Longbottom seemed like she wasn’t the type of person to use words of encouragement, and Neville seemed like the type that desperately needed some. Lily didn’t know what to say to either of them.

For now, she sipped her juice, startled to find out it was pumpkin.

After breakfast had been finished, Mrs. Longbottom took Neville by the arm and led him outside. Lily followed, to see them off.

Before they got off the porch, Mrs. Longbottom turned around to observe Lily.

“Are you sure you're okay by yourself, Hazel?”

Lily fidgeted, nervous. “Actually, Mrs. Longbottom, I go by Lily. It was mum's name.” Lily looked down at her feet. She didn’t know why the elderly woman scared her so much. She hadn’t been nearly this frightened of McGonagall. Of course, McGonagall didn’t walk around with a giant stuffed bird on her head.

“Then Lily it is. But you didn't answer the question.”

“I'll be fine, Mrs. Longbottom. I was alone all the time at the Dursley's.”

“It's Augusta, dear. And if you can't manage that, you're more than welcome to call me Gran. Lord knows everybody else does.” Gran smiled, and turned with Neville. They were gone before Lily could blink.

Lily sat on the porch for awhile before heading back inside. She had been considering what to call Mrs. Longbottom, now knowing how much longer the old woman would be patient with her. Weasley was sniffing around inside the kitchen when she came in, and he followed her as she went up the stairs. Lily went to her room, determined to finish unpacking. First, she took Trevor off her desk, and tossed him back into Neville's room. She had a feeling that would be a regular occurrence.

She decided to leave the general school supplies in the trunk for now, although she did set aside the quills and ink, deciding to master using them before school started. The potions reagents remained inside the trunk. She also removed her story notebooks, hiding them under the bed. She'd get back to writing soon, but she wanted to get used to the quills first. She set an empty notebook aside on the desk.

With the trunk unpacked, and with Weasley dozing on her bed, she sat down at her desk. She decided to write a report on Hogwarts: A History as she read it, although it wasn't strictly necessary to do so. In fact, it wasn’t necessary reading at all, but she figured it couldn’t hurt to learn more about the place she’d be living for the next seven years.

Six hours later, and well past lunch, Lily was halfway through both the book and the notebook when she heard Gran calling for her. She closed both books and stretched. She could hear Weasley meowing as he ran down the stairs ahead of her. Hogwarts: A History wasn’t a very interesting read, but it was certainly full of information. Whether or not it would be useful information remained to be seen.

Lily went downstairs. Neville was lugging what was presumably a fully loaded trunk inside, while Gran was carrying a load of bags.

“Here you are, dear, a few sets of robes and whatnot. I got them a little large, you look like you're due to start growing any second now.”

“That’s what Madame Malkin’s said, too. Thank you, Mrs. Longbottom.” Lily reached out for the bags.

Mrs. Longbottom pulled them back before Lily could grasp them. “It's Augusta or Gran, Lily. Pick one. I can't stand being called Mrs. Longbottom.” Mrs. Longbottom’s patience had worn out much quicker than Lily had hoped.

“I'm sorry, g-Gran,” Lily stuttered out, embarrassed. Gran was more embarrassing than Augusta, but Lily couldn't bring herself to call an adult by their first name, especially after the Minerva fiasco. Neville looked shocked at this interaction.

“That's much better,” Gran said, handing the bags over. Lily hauled them upstairs before she could embarrass herself any further.


	5. The Hogwarts Express

The first week of August passed without much note. Neville kept mostly to himself, Lily kept mostly to herself, and Gran kept trying to push both children out of their comfort zones. Weasley had given up on hunting Trevor after the toad had ambushed him in the middle of the night. Lily had started claiming the shower first thing in the morning, because Neville took so long that the hot water was always gone if she went after him.

Lily had finished up Hogwarts: A History, although she hadn't quite mastered the art of the quill. She still left way too many inkblots on the parchment and kept smudging it with her hand as she wrote. She had decided to start on her transfiguration book next, getting a head start on her transfiguration work seemed like a good idea if she wanted to remain on McGonagall's good side.

At the beginning of the second week of August, Neville's uncle came to visit. He was a cheerful man, but he had a bad habit of ribbing on Neville even when the boy clearly was uncomfortable. Whenever he was over, Lily tended to hide away in her room.

Gran had managed to get more background of out Lily in the previous days, so she didn't push Lily out of her room too much whenever she clearly needed to recharge her batteries. Overall, her time at the Longbottom estate was very pleasant.

Neville interacted with Lily as infrequently as he could get away with, her presence clearly making him uncomfortable. Lily couldn't blame him. She was a stranger who suddenly started living in his house unannounced. Lily thought it was unfair of Gran to just have let her move in without telling her grandson, but she was more thankful to have an actual home.

Gran hadn't taught them another spell as of yet, claiming she couldn't give them too much or the professors would get suspicious. Lily had the spell theory for all the transfiguration work they'd be doing, but she wasn't going to risk practicing it until she got to school.

As August came to an end, Lily had finished going over transfiguration and potions. She no longer smudged the paper as much, although she couldn't figure out how to stop the inkblots yet. She stretched, then turned around to finally face her trunk. Gran had been telling both kids to pack their trunk ahead of time for a week now, but Lily had kept putting it off. Now that she only had a few hours left, it seemed like a daunting task.

She started by tossing her school robes into the trunk first. She couldn't remember how McGonagall had packed it all so neatly, so she didn't bother trying. After the robes were all in, she gently placed the textbooks in, transfiguration and potions at the bottom. Then she placed her quills and ink as securely as she could. She hoped they'd be learning a spell to clean spilled ink soon, just in case.

She considered putting in one of her story notebooks, but she decided that she couldn't stand the idea of somebody going through her trunk and reading them. Instead, she elected to hide them underneath the mattress, just in case Mrs. Longbottom decided to clean up under the bed while she was gone.

Then, she got ready for bed. Weasley was still off patrolling the house, so she figured she'd leave the door open for his return. When she clicked the door open, she saw a light streaming from underneath Neville's door. She glanced down the hallway towards Gran's room. No light was coming from her door.

Lily stepped forward and knocked lightly on Neville's door. She heard a shuffling behind the door, and then it opened slowly, Neville peeking out.

“Oh, it's you,” he said, opening the door widely. He looked down the hall to make sure Gran was asleep, then let her in.

Neville's room was immaculate, somehow. His trunk was laying on the ground, packed neatly. Lily felt slightly guilty for not even trying with hers. One of his walls was covered in gum wrappers, for whatever reason.

“What did you need?” Neville asked, sitting on his bed.

“I was just saying hello,” Lily replied, looking around. “We haven't talked much.”

Neville looked nervous, like he had something to say but couldn't bring himself to do so.

“If you don't want me here, I understand,” Lily said, looking down at her feet. “I can tell Professor Dumbledore I'd like to go somewhere else next summer.”

Neville looked hurt. “I don't want you to leave,” he said, “Gran told me not to bother you, at Diagon Alley. Said you had a lot of things to worry about, and to just let you open up on your own terms.”

Lily frowned. “Then why did she keep forcing us to have dinner together?”

Neville smiled nervously. “Well, she's never followed her own advice.”

Lily looked around again, spying a glass ball sitting on Neville desk. She walked forward, picking it up. It was filled with some sort of gray fog.

“That's the remembrall,” Neville said. “The fog turns red when you've forgotten something.”

“It's just staying gray for me.”

“Then it looks like you've got everything. Toss it here,” Neville said, cupping his hands. Lily tossed it to him, landing it directly in his hands. Neville had flinched slightly, but still caught it. The orb began turning red as he held it.

“What did you forget?” Lily asked.

“I have no idea,” was Neville's answer. He looked sheepish.

Lily looked around the room spying a textbook on top of his wardrobe. She tried to reach up to grab it but couldn't quite do so. “Well, I found it, at least,” she said. “You haven't packed your potions book.”

Neville got up, grabbing his chair from his deck. He tossed his book into the trunk, and then watched the remembrall fade back to red.

“Thanks, Ha-” Neville stopped himself, blushing. “I mean, thanks, Lily.”

“No problem, Neville,” Lily said, stifling a yawn. “Did you figure out what house you want yet?”

Neville looked down at his feet. “Gran keeps telling me that I better be in Gryffindor, or my father would be disappointed.”

“That doesn't seem fair,” Lily said. “I kinda like all the houses. My favorite would definitely be Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw would be pretty good, too. And you seem like a real Hufflepuff.”

“That doesn't make me feel any better about it, you know.”

“Sorry. What if you just asked to be in Gryffindor?”

Neville frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, why don't you just ask? It couldn't hurt.”

“I thought there was going to be some sort of test. Is asking an option?”

“I don't see why not. How would they even test for bravery anyway?”

Neville smiled. “Well, I guess it's worth a shot. Thanks, Ha- sorry, Lily.”

“No problem, Neville,” Lily said, this time actually yawning. “I'm gonna head to bed. I'll see you tomorrow, Neville.”

“Goodnight,” he called as Lily exited the room.

Weasley meowed at Lily from her bed. Lily closed the door behind her as she entered, then gave the cat a scratch under his chin. Weasley, purred, then moved to the foot of the mattress, waiting for Lily to get into bed.

Later, there came a sharp series of knocks on her door, followed by a voice.

“Get up, Lily,” Gran called.

Lily groaned in response. She rubbed at her eyes, the room a lot brighter than she remembered it being. Weasley hopped off the bed, stretched, and began meowing at the door.

Lily managed to pull herself out of bed. She could hear the shower already running and resolved herself to a cold one. She made her bed while she waited, making sure to use clean sheets. She didn't want Mrs. Longbottom to discover her notebooks.

Then she picked up Weasley and stowed him away in his cage. The cat's meowing was now a lot more annoyed, but she ignored him. As soon as she heard Neville leave the bathroom, she grabbed a red sundress, and then went in herself. She turned the shower on as hot as it could go but calling the remaining water lukewarm would have been an exaggeration.

Lily was shivering by the time she finished, and she dried off as quickly as she could. The Longbottom towels were magically warming, which Lily never appreciated as much as she did at this very moment.

Dressed and dry, Lily grabbed Weasley and her trunk, and hauled them downstairs. She set them both down, and then sat down at the table, wolfing down her breakfast of sausage, eggs, and beans. Neville had already finished his own, and Mrs. Longbottom was grilling him to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything.

“Yes, Gran,” Neville said after her last question. “I even checked the remembrall to make sure.”

“Well,” Gran said, with her hands on her hips, “Did you remember the remembrall.”

Neville opened his mouth, then stopped, blushing. He stood up quickly and ran upstairs. Gran laughed as she opened the day's _Daily Prophet_.

Lily finished her breakfast, then reclined back in the chair as much as she dared. “How are we getting to the station, Gran?”

Gran didn't look up from the newspaper. “We'll be taking the Knight's Bus. Can't apparate with that much luggage.”

Lily frowned. “Where's the bus stop?”

“Wherever we are. All you have to do is hold out your wand on any roadside. We'll have to walk a few minutes to get to ours, but it won't be an issue. We'll want to get a move on, soon. The Knight Bus will only be getting more crowded the longer we wait.”

They had a couple of hours to go, but that sounded reasonable to Lily. Neville came back down the stairs and shoved the remembrall into his trunk. Gran stood, setting the paper down.

“Well, let's be off,” She said, leading the way. Neville groaned, and began lugging his trunk outside, Trevor tucked under an arm. Lily picked up Weasley and her own trunk, and then followed them outside.

It took about ten minutes to reach the nearest roadside, and Neville and Lily were both breathing hard by the time they did so. Lily kept brushing her hair out of her face, scratching at her scar. It always got itchy when she was sweaty.

Gran held out her wand to her side, and with a loud _pop,_ a double decker rolled to an immediate stop in front of them. A tall, elderly man dressed in a purple suit hopped down from the bus.

“Welcome to the Knight Bus,” he said. “We transport the stranded witch or wizard, just stick out your wand hand and we will take you to your destination.”

“We'll be heading to King's Cross,” Gran said.

“Heading to Hogwarts, eh? That'll be six sickles. We have a few stops to make before we reach yours, but we'll get you there before the train leaves.”

Gran handed over the sickles, then hopped aboard. The old man hauled Lily's trunk in first, then Neville's. Neville sat right next to Gran, and Lily sat on her other side, looking around nervously.

“Better hold on tight,” Gran said as the Knight Bus sped up with another loud _pop_. Lily almost lost her seat, but poor Neville actually did. Gran hauled him back up, grumbling. Lily started to feel a bit sick and decided to close her eyes to help with the nausea. When the bus suddenly slid to a stop, making its next stop, Lily almost slid off the seat, but Gran managed to catch her just in time.

The rest of the ride was a nightmare. By the time they finally rolled up to King's Cross Station, Neville looked just as sick as Lily felt. Gran got off first, dragging them both behind her. The same conductor lugged their trunks off the bus, saluted, hopped back on, and then the Knight Bus was gone.

“Well, go grab some carts,” Gran told the two. “I'll watch the trunks.”

Lily and Neville looked at each other with equal trepidation, but they ran off to do as they were told. When they brought the carts back, Gran didn't help them load them. They were also expected to push their own carts. She walked between the two as they pushed forward. Neville was already panting.

“Where are we going, Gran?” Lily dared to ask.

“Platform 9 ¾,” Gran replied. Lily was confused. Every sign only gave whole numbers. She noticed Neville was also glancing around nervously. Then Gran stopped between platforms nine and ten and pointed at a pillar. “There you go. Just run at it with your cart, and I'll see you on the other side.” Gran left them standing there, staring at the pillar. She walked forward, and then vanished in the blink of an eye.

“Well, uh, after you, then,” Neville stammered, gesturing to the pillar.

“Very nice, Neville, letting the lady go first,” Lily sniffed. Lily took a tentative step forward, then went off on a trot. She was now past the point of slowing her cart down in time, and she closed her eyes as she neared the pillar, expecting a collision.

“Lily, you can stop now,” Gran called.

Lily opened her eyes, and then gasped, trying to pull her cart to a stop before she ran off the platform. A bright red train engine had suddenly appeared in front of her, and people were crowded all along. She managed to get her cart stopped just in time for Neville to crash into her from behind. Both carts spilled their contents, Lily's trunk spilling open, the contents tumbling out. Lily groaned as she lay on the ground, the back of her legs throbbing.

“Sorry,” she heard Neville say from somewhere nearby.

Lily looked up, seeing most of the bystanders staring at them. She saw a bushy haired girl point at her, covering her mouth and nudging her parents, who stood nervously, dressed in muggle clothing. Lily brushed her hair back over her forehead, trying to cover the scar. She never liked people staring.

“Come on, you two, get up,” Gran said, hauling Lily to her feet. “Come on, Neville, help us gather Lily's things.”

Lily grabbed her textbooks, throwing them all back in while Gran grabbed the school robes. The ink and quills had managed to stay in their compartment, thankfully. _Don't need that spell quite yet,_ Lily thought.

The bushy haired girl from earlier came to help them, already wearing her school robes. She was carrying Trevor, and handed him over to Neville, who accepted him reluctantly.

“Here you go, he was trying to hop away after you crashed.” She turned away from Neville while he mumbled a thanks, facing Lily. “You must be Hazel Potter,” she said, causing people nearby to whisper and glance. “I've read all about you.” She extended her hand.”

“You have?” Lily asked, taking the handshake.

“Of course, you're famous, you know. It's a pleasure. My name is Hermione Granger.” Lily noticed her front teeth were rather large while she was talking and had to stop herself from staring. “Would you like to share a cabin? I'd love to ask you some questions.”

Lily glanced to Neville and Gran, the latter of which gave her a thumbs up and a smile. Neville was staring at Trevor, almost as if he was shocked that the toad was still around.

“Uh, sure,” Lily responded. The bushy haired girl smiled, taking her by the hand., Lily pulling her cart around with them.

Hermione's parents (who were clearly nervous muggles) took control of the carts as they approached. They managed to get both the trunks stowed away, then hugged Hermione goodbye.

“You'll make sure you right to us, right?” her mother asked, holding her tight.  
“Yes, mom,” Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

“And don't forget to brush your teeth, Hermione,” her dad said.

“I won't, dad.”

“We'll see you for Christmas, Hermione. Take care of yourself.” They hugged once more, then the parents got off the train.

Hermione sat down in a huff, looking at Lily. “My parents are dentists; in case you were wondering.”

Lily sat down across from her. “That explains the teeth brushing. Do you mind if I let my cat out?”  
Hermione smiled, clearly excited. “Of course not! What's his name?”

Lily unlocked his cage, and the tomcat ran out, exploring the train compartment. “His name is Weasley.”

“That's certainly an interesting name for a cat.” Weasley hopped into Hermione's lap, laying down, which made clearly made the girl happier. Hermione scratched Weasley behind the ears as the train slowly began to roll away from the station. Her parents waved to her from the platform, but she didn't seem to notice. She just kept staring pointedly at Lily.

“So, uh,” Lily began, feeling bashful, “You said you had questions?”

“Yes, of course!” Hermione seemed excited. “I've read all about you. You're in all sorts of books you know? I got a few extra books for background information, and you're in _Modern Magical History_ and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_.”

“Am I?” said Lily, feeling dazed.

“Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me.” Hermione went to continue talking, but Lily interrupted her.

“I don't make a habit of looking myself up in textbooks.”

Hermione looked taken aback “But surely you're curious?”

“What's there to be curious about? Some bloke murdered my parents and gave me a scar.”

“Well, yes, but that's what I wanted to ask. No book actually said _why_ he went after you. Do you know?”

Lily shook her head. “No, but Dumbledore promised to tell me when I was older.”

“Well, that's certainly frustrating. I do hope you'll let me know when he does tell you.”  
“Well, I-”

“Do you know what house you want to be in? I've read up on all of them, and while Ravenclaw doesn't sound so bad, I think I'd prefer being in Gryffindor.”

“Hey, that's what I said to Neville!”

“Neville? Was he the boy who ran into you?”

“Yeah, I've been staying with him and Gran for the summer.”

“I didn't know your grandmother was alive! None of the books ever mentioned that. What's she like, and why is the Neville boy with you? Is he your cousin?”

Lily shook her head, trying to clear up the misunderstanding. “No, she's not actually my Gran, she's Neville's. But she said I had to call her either Augusta or Gran, so I chose the one I was more comfortable with.”

Hermione nodded her head. “That make sense. I don't think I'd have been able to use her first name either, that'd feel a little strange. Have you given any thought as to what subject you'll like the most?”

“Well, I actually went through the Transfiguration and Potions texts and made some notes, but those are the only two I had time for.” Lily hadn't intended it, but Hermione perked up when the other girl mentioned reading the textbooks.

“Oh, good, I was worried I was the only one who would have gone through the books ahead of time, although I must say that I went a little further, I've memorized practically every book by heart.”  
“That's, uh,” Lily began, the other girl beaming. “That's certainly impressive.”  
“I was just so excited to find out I could do magic; I couldn't help myself from reading everything I could get my hands on. Of course, even when I didn't know I _could_ do magic, that didn't stop me. I-” Hermione clearly meant to keep talking but was interrupted by the compartment door opening. Weasley was startled and hopped from Hermione's lap to Lily's.

The blonde boy from Madame Malkin's walked in, sneering, accompanied by two much larger, much dumber looking boys.

“I heard Hazel Potter is in this compartment.” He looked at Hermione. “You must be her.”

“Actually, I'm Hermione Granger,” Hermione Granger said. The blonde boy's self-satisfied look disappeared.

“Granger? I've never heard that family name among our kind, before.”

Hermione looked taken aback. “Well, no. My parents are dentists.”

“Oh, of course. Dentists.” The boy looked towards Lily now, glancing up and down, recognition coming to his face. “You're that girl from the tailor's shop. I thought you were a Weasley.”

“No,” Lily said while petting Weasley, “But my cat is.”

The boy glanced down to the ginger cat, then snorted. “I suppose he is. You should have mentioned you were a Potter before.” The boy extended his hand. “I'm Draco Malfoy. Come with us, you should be sitting with her your own kind. We can show you things work around here.”  
Weasley leaned forward, clawing at Malfoy's hand, who pulled back, clearly not amused. Lily laughed.

“I think I’ll stay here with Hermione, thank you very much. She seems like much better company.”

Malfoy sneered, pushing past his two bodyguards, who slammed the door behind them as they left.

“Well, he seemed pleasant,” Lily said, trying to break the tension. Hermione bit her bottom lip, clearly thinking. “Hey, I do that too!”

Hermione seemed puzzled. “What?”

“Your lip, you bite it when you're nervous. I do that too.”

“Oh,” Hermione said, blushing. “I never even noticed it before.”

“It's okay. I kinda like it.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. We seem to have a lot in common. The friendliest person I've been around so far was Neville, and we didn't even really talk until last night. It's nice to have a genuine friend.”

Hermione beamed. “I admit, I didn't expect you to be so nice. I thought you'd be a little stuck up, actually, with how famous you are.”

“Do you want me to call Malfoy back for you?”

Before Hermione could respond, smiling, their door opened again. Lily's heart sunk, thinking it was actually Malfoy coming back. Instead, there was a lanky, ginger boy standing there.

Lily couldn't stop herself. “You're a Weasley!” She squealed. Hermione laughed, but the boy looked confused and slightly peeved.

“Yeah? So, what if I am?” He asked. Lily and Hermione both stopped smiling.

“I'm sorry,” Lily began, genuinely feeling bad. “It's just that I heard so much about you all, and I even named my cat after you.”

The Weasley boy's eyes went between the cat, sitting on Lily's lap and purring, and Lily herself. “Well, he does look like a Weasley. Although, I think dad would be terrified if he found out he had another kid. Best keep it to ourselves.”

Lily chuckled, causing the boy to smile.

“Can we help you?” Hermione asked.

“Right,” the Weasley boy remembered, startled by Hermione speaking, “this Neville boy has lost his toad and my brothers made me help him look. I told him to give it up as a lost cause, but Percy insisted.”

“Oh, no!” Hermione said, raising her hand to her mouth, rising from her seat. “Come on, Hazel, we should help too.”

The Weasley's brow furrowed. He glanced over at Lily, eyes settling on her forehead. Lily raised her hand unconsciously, trying to cover the scar, and the boy seemed excited by this confirmation. “You're Hazel Potter!”

“Err, yes,” Lily began, “But I like to go by Lily.”

Hermione grunted. “Why'd you let me go on for so long without saying so?”

“Well, I, uh,” Lily stammered, “I couldn't find a good way to squeeze it into the conversation.”

“Do you really have the scar?” the Weasley boy asked, excited.

“Don't you have a toad to find?” Hermione interjected, apparently no longer feeling helpful, since she also sat back down.

“Ah, he'll find it eventually,” Ron said, closing the door and sitting next to Hermione. “So, do you?”

“Err,” Lily managed. She looked helplessly at Hermione, who got the hint.

“You know, she's not a zoo animal. And you haven't even introduced yourself.” Hermione crossed her arms.

“Oh, right. I'm Ron.” Ron scratched the top of his head. “I'm sorry, you don't have to show me your scar if you don't want to.”

“Thank you, Ron,” Lily said pointedly. “And forget about Neville's toad, he loses it all the time. To be honest, I think he wants to get rid of it.”

“Well, can you blame him? I would have ditched it long ago if I had one.”

“What's wrong with a toad?” Hermione asked indignantly.

“Well, nobody wants a toad, you know,” Ron said as if it was obvious. “Nobody has a toad anymore. You might as well wear a sign around your neck saying, 'I don't have friends.' It's just sad.”

“What do you have, then?” Hermione asked.

“Well, uh,” Ron said, turning as red as his hair. “I guess I shouldn't really rag on the toad too much. All I've got is a stupid, fat rat that my brother didn't want anymore.”

“A rat? I don't remember seeing a rat on the allowed animals list.”

“Well, no, they aren't. But mum and dad said the rule is really only there so nobody tries to bring in anything dangerous, and nobody would care about a single rat.”

Hermione huffed, but didn't argue the issue any further.

“What house do you want, Ron?” Lily asked.

“Well, my whole family was in Gryffindor, and Fred and George have been saying I'd get disowned if I wasn't too.”

“Would they really do that?” Hermione asked.

Ron shrugged. “Probably not, as long as I wasn't in Slytherin.”

“What’s wrong with Slytherin?” Both witches asked at once, then laughed at the coincidence.

Ron let them finish before continuing, “Well, Slytherin is where all the dark wizards come from, you know?”

“That's ridiculous,” Hermione said. “You can't just write off a whole house as if they're all evil.”  
“Well, of course they're not _all_ bad. But every witch or wizard that _did_ go bad came from Slytherin. You have to admit that is one awfully large coincidence.”

“Did Voldemort come from Slytherin too?” Lily asked, causing Ron to flinch and gasp.

“You said his name!” Ron yelled. “I can't believe it; you'd think you of all people wouldn't.”  
Lily blushed. “Well, the first time I even heard the name was when Dumbledore said it, and he told me not to be afraid.”

“You've met _Dumbledore_ ,” Hermione gasped out. “What was he like? Oh, I bet he was brilliant.”

“Well, he was, uh, old?”

Ron laughed. “Well, he certainly doesn't seem like he'll be doing cartwheels anytime soon, does he?”

“You shouldn't speak about a professor that way,” Hermione sniffed.

“Well, from what I've heard, the old codger is a little out there.”

“Ronald!” Hermione covered her mouth with her hand.

Ron rolled his eyes. “Now you sound like my mother.”

Lily laughed, causing Hermione to blush. Their compartment door opened again, revealing another red headed boy. This one taller and wearing school robes with a red tie and a silver badge. His hair was cut much shorter, and he carried himself with his nose in the air.

“Really, now, can't we have one conversation without somebody barging into our compartment?” Hermione asked, throwing her hands in the air. The new boy seemed bashful at this intrusion.

“I'm sorry, I was just trying to find my brother.” The boy turned to Ron. “Did you find the toad, Ron?”

“Well, no, but-” The older boy grabbed Ron by his arm, hauling him up.

“Well, then, come on. We've made a promise.”

“ _You_ made a promise. Can't I just-”

“No, you may certainly not. You can talk to your new friends when we get to Hogwarts.” The older boy shoved Ron into the hallway, who walked off grumbling. Then he turned back to the girls. “I'm sorry again. See you all at Hogwarts.” He closed the door and then walked off.

“Why didn't you get excited over _that_ Weasley?” Hermione asked.

“I guess the magic wore off.”


	6. The Sorting

“I'm done changing, now,” Lily told Hermione through the cracked open door. The bushy haired girl had been blocking the entrance so nobody could walk in on her. With her job done, she came back in, and sat down next to Weasley, who happily plopped himself back down in her lap.

“We must be close now, the train is slowing down,” Hermione said. Lily opened Weasley’s cage, motioning for him to get in. Weasley just sat there staring at her, pretending not to understand, until Hermione grabbed him up and pushed him into the cage.

“I hope we’re in the same house,” Hermione said, “If only so I can still see Weasley.”

“Then we best aim for the same house, hmm?” Lily put Weasley’s cage onto her trunk, which was still sitting on the train seat. “Do you think we have to carry our luggage with us?”

“I don’t know, the books didn’t say what it is we’d be doing to be sorted.”

As the train came to a stop, Lily and Hermione continued sitting there, apprehensive.

“Right, everybody off the train,” they heard a prefect call as he passed their compartment. “Leave the luggage, everybody off.”

“Well,” Hermione said, getting up, “I guess that settles it. Shall we be off?”

Lily gave one last nervous look back at Weasley, who was meowing for her attention, then moved to exit the train.

Hermione and Lily stood around on the platform with the other first years, all of which looked equally terrified.

“Right, firs’ years, this way, follow me,” she heard a familiar voice shouting over the din. Lily was shorter than most of her fellow students, but she could still see Hagrid’s hulking form moving through the crowd. “Firs’ years, follow me, come on now.” Hagrid began walking away, down towards the edge of the forest. Hermione and Lily looked at each other, apprehensive, then began walking down with the rest of the scared first years.

Hagrid led them all down a steep, narrow path through the forest. Hermione slipped and almost fell a few times, but Lily managed to catch her each time. Some kids actually did fall. It was _very_ dark.

Lily and Hermione were fairly close to Hagrid, who was carry a lantern high above the first years, but she imagined she’d be much more terrified if she was in the back.

“Yeh’ll get yer firs’ sight o’ Hogwarts in a sec,” Hagrid called over his shoulder, “jus’ round this bend here.”

Lily heard a lot of gasps and admiration around her. Hermione actually grasped onto Lily, startling her so that she took a turn almost falling.

“Oh, Lily,” she said, eyes full of wonder, “It’s beautiful!”

They had come around to massive lake, and the lights of the castle reflected onto the surface of the water, creating a mirror reflection of the massive fortress. The castle was framed by stars, not a single cloud in the sky. Lily was amazed as well. She had thought the castle beautiful the first time she had seen it, but it paled in comparison to the sight currently in front of her.

“No more’n four to a boat,” Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of boats sitting on the lakeshore. Hagrid climbed into a boat by himself, leaving no room for any first year. Lily and Hermione grabbed a boat together and were soon joined by Neville and Ron.

“Did you find Trevor?” Lily asked Neville, who shook his head, a slight smile coming to his lips. Ron snorted at this reaction.

“Percy had us looking for hours. I think Fred and George may have thrown him off the train.”

Hermione gasped. “That’d be terrible!”

“They’d be doing him a right favor,” Ron said, lurching as the boat began sailing forward of its own accord. Hermione held tight onto both the side of the boat and to Lily, who had grabbed onto Neville, who had grabbed onto Ron. Ron shook him off, who shook her off, who shook her off.

They passed the ride in silence, staring at the castle overhead, trying desperately to not fall out of the boat. Ron didn’t hang onto anything to steady himself and kept rolling his eyes at the others, but he didn’t say anything either. Lily was pretty sure it was due to Hermione’s glares whenever the boy snorted.

“Heads down!” Hagrid called, lowering himself as they approached the cliff face. Lily felt a brief moment of panic as they approached, and Hermione grabbed onto her once again, but then they passed through the wall of ivy that was hiding the secret passage. Hermione laughed nervously, and Ron snorted again.

They followed Hagrid’s boat, the only one with a lit lantern, through a dark tunnel. The light reflected eerily off of the water’s surface and the cave’s walls. Eventually, they came to an underground harbor, and the boats slowed before parking next to the dock. Lily got out of the boat first, standing on shaky legs, then she helped Hermione out. Ron had hopped out right after, tugging Neville out of the boat before he could fall off.

“Righ’, then, follow me,” Hagrid called, beginning a journey up a staircase carved into the rockface. Lily was panting by the time they reached the top, coming outside the castle. Hagrid walked around to the front side and waited for everybody to assemble in front of him. “Everyone here? Still in one piece?” Hagrid laughed after the last question, then turned and knocked on the gates.

The gates swung open, and Professor McGonagall walked out of them. Hagrid squeezed past her (as well as he could, anyway), entering the castle.

“Good evening, students,” the professor said. “Follow me.” She led the first years inside the entrance hall, which Lily decided was nowhere near as impressive at night. Hermione still squealed next to her, grabbing her arm to point at everything of note.

Professor McGonagall led the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. Once everyone had crowded in, she began to address them.

“Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

“The four houses are called Gryffindor,” McGonagall’s eyes rested on Lily for a second as she said this, causing the girl to gulp, “Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

“The sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.”

Her eyes lingered on Neville, who hadn’t proper fastened his cloak, and on Ron, who had somehow managed to get dirt stuck on the side of his nose. Lily nervously tried to fix her hair, making sure the scar was covered.

“I shall return when we are ready for you,” said Professor McGonagall. “Please wait quietly.”

She left the chamber. Lily swallowed.

“How do they sort us into houses?” Lily heard Neville ask Ron.

“Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking.”

Lily’s heart sank. She had been trying to convince Neville that there wouldn’t be a test, but now she was unsure. What if there was? What if she wasn’t sorted at all? Lily’s breathing became panicked, and she felt Hermione grab onto her arm. She looked at her friend, who was looking at her with a reassuring expression. Lily felt much calmer.

Then ghosts phased through the wall, causing much screaming and panic. They were pure white, and transparent. Lily could see the blank walls of the chamber through them. They seemed to be talking amongst themselves, not paying attention. Soon enough, one of them noticed the kids, and the fat ghost looked excited.

“New students!” he exclaimed with glee. “About to be Sorted, I suppose?”

Lily and Hermione nodded, and Lily could the see the movements of a dozen other students doing the same.

“Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house, you know.”

“Move along,” Professor McGonagall ordered, having returned to the chamber. “The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin.”

The ghosts floated away, phasing through another wall. The professor turned to face the first years.

“Now, form a line, and follow me,” McGonagall ordered once again. Lily quickly shuffled in behind Hermione, who had eagerly taken the lead. They followed the professor into the entrance hall, and up to the doors of the Great Hall, which McGonagall quickly pushed open and entered. There was briefly a great roar, clearly all the older students carrying on their conversations, but it quickly died down as the first years shuffled into the hall, their orderly line quickly dissolved into a conglomerated mess.

The Great Hall was a lot more beautiful than the time Lily had slept in it. There were hundreds of lit candles floating in the air, mixing among the enchanted ceiling above. The stars somehow seemed brighter inside the building than they did outside. The four long tables were back, this time crowded with students, all sitting with cloaked individuals of the same color. The faculty table was also back, this time filled with professors. Lily only recognized Professor Dumbledore, who was looking eager, and Hagrid, who had joined the rest of the staff and was now excitedly waving at the first years.

Professor McGonagall had stopped walking in front of stool, onto which a pointed hat had been placed. _Maybe we have to pull a rabbit out of it,_ Lily thought. The rest of the students were all staring directly at the hat.

There was a long moment of silence, and then a brim on the hat opened up, and it began to sing.

_“Oh, you may not think I’m pretty,_

_But don’t judge on what you see,_

_I’ll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I’m the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There’s nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can’t see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you’ve a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You’ll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don’t be afraid!_

_And don’t get in a flap!_

_You’re in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I’m a Thinking Cap!”_

The whole hall burst into applause as the song concluded. Hermione looked beside herself with joy.

“So we’ve just got to put on the hat,” Lily heard Ron tell Neville behind them. “I’ll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll.”

Lily wished there _was_ a troll. She felt like everybody’s eyes were on her. _What if I’m not sorted?_ She couldn’t help but think the worst. A test at least would have determined _something_ for her, but what if the hat decided she didn’t belong anywhere? Would they just throw her back on the train?

“HUFFLEPUFF!” the hat suddenly shouted. Lily sprang back to attention.

“What just happened?” Lily asked Hermione, who shushed her.

“Bones, Susan!” McGonagall called.

A girl with blonde hair, arranged in a long plait down her back, approached the stool. McGonagall put the hat on her head.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” The hat shouted once again. Susan Bones ran off to join the Hufflepuff table, who were applauding loudly, the fat friar practically jiggling in excitement.

Lily started chewing her lip, listening to the list approach her name. She felt increasingly nervous. She could have sworn she saw a few older kids point at her occasionally, whispering something.

“Granger, Hermione!” McGonagall called. Hermione stepped forward, no longer excited and clearly showing her nerves. Lily almost reached out to her, but managed to stop herself. _Wherever Hermione goes, that’s where I want to be,_ Lily decided. So far, Hermione was her only friend, and she didn’t want to be alone.

“GRYFFINDOR!” the hat called after a brief pause. Hermione beamed, wrenched off the hat, and then ran to the table. Lily could have sworn she was even skipping.

“Longbottom, Neville!” McGonagall called, causing Lily to feel slightly bad. She hadn’t considered him her first friend, but to be fair, they had barely talked over the summer. Plus, the two hadn’t even shared the ride on the train, Neville having apparently traveled with the Weasleys.

“GRYFFINDOR!” the hat shouted after a long pause. Neville looked extremely pleased, and Lily felt better about her chances. Neville ran off with the hat still on at first, and he had to walk back sheepishly to give it back to a scowling McGonagall.

Malfoy was called soon after, getting sorted into Slytherin before the hat had even finished touching his head. He had walked off that sneer on his face.

Lily started fidgeting, realizing there couldn’t be many names left until she was called. After half a dozen names (Moon, Nott, Parkinson, Patil, Patil, Perks), the moment finally arrived.

“Potter, Hazel!” McGonagall called, eyeing the nervous girl.

The hall suddenly became very quiet, and this time everybody actually _was_ staring at Lily as she walked forward.

“What did she say?” Lily heard someone say.

“ _The_ Hazel Potter?” another said.

Lily sat on the stool hands trembling. She gripped onto the rim to stop them from shaking. She briefly spotted Hermione giving her a thumbs up before the hat fell over her eyes.

_“Well, well, well,”_ a voice said in her head. “ _A lot to sort through here, I see. You’re clever, very clever. And I see a bit of ambition within you, although I don’t know if you’ve quite realized it.”_

_I want to be in Gryffindor_ , Lily thought, worried.

“ _Gryffindor, eh? Well, there is an awful lot of courage in here. But are you sure? You could do well in Ravenclaw, I think, perhaps even Slytherin.”_

_Not Slytherin,_ Lily thought, deciding on the moment that she’d rather be anywhere else.

“ _Are you sure? You could do great things in Slytherin, great things indeed. I think it would guide you well. But, if you’re sure, then better be_ GRYFFINDOR!” The hat had yelled the last word out loud, and the Gryffindor table burst into applause as the hat was yanked off her head. Lily hopped up, excited, running over to where Hermione had saved a seat for her.

“We’ve got Potter! We’ve got Potter!” two identical red-headed boys were chanting, dancing arm in arm. Lily got several pats on the back as she approached the bench, having finally reached her friend.

“Percy Weasley,” the boy with the silver badge from earlier today offered, shaking Lily’s hand. “Gryffindor prefect, you’ve already met my brother, Ron. Very pleased to have you!”

Hermione gave Lily a hug, practically glowing with her happiness.

“Now we’ll have all our classes together!”

“Well, done, my boy,” a ghost with a ruff said, giving Lily a chilly pat through her arm.

Dean Thomas became another Gryffindor shortly after, to much less thunderous applause. Lisa Turpin came after him, and was promptly sorted into Ravenclaw.

Finally, it was Ron’s turn. He walked up to the hat, looking green. The hat had been on his head for only a second before it yelled out “GRYFFINDOR!” The Weasley’s cheered as loudly for Ron as they had for Lily, and he ran to the table, sitting across from her, looking the happiest she had seen him.

Lily missed the last person in all the congratulating, but she soon heard the Slytherin table applauding.

Lily looked down at her empty plate, mouth watering. She had only just now realized how _starving_ she was. Neither her nor Hermione had purchased any snacks on the train, since neither of them had any wizard money on them. She looked across the table, noticing the older students beginning to pick up their utensils as Professor Dumbledore stood up. He opened his arms wide, beaming.

“Welcome!” he said, “Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Bamboozle! Yardstick! Patrick and Plum! Thank you!”

Dumbledore sat down, the whole hall applauding and Lily laughing.

“I told you the man was bonkers,” Ron said, reaching for a chicken leg.

Lily gasped. The table had suddenly filled with platter upon platter of food. Lily pulled a couple of chicken legs onto her own plate, before reaching for the mashed potatoes.

Lily was scarfing down her fifth chicken leg as Hermione ogled her.

“You can put away a lot more food than you look,” she said.

“I’m hungry,” Lily said in her defense, swallowing a mouthful of chicken.

“I’m still ahead,” Ron said, picking up chicken leg number seven. Hermione simply groaned, having eaten her fill already.

Soon enough, the platters of dinner gave way to dessert. Lily had been about to give up, but decided a nice slice of pie was in order.

After three slices of pie, Lily could truly eat no more. Ron had somehow finished off a whole pie by himself. Hermione hadn’t touched any of the dessert (“I ate too much before!”).

Lily could barely sit up straight, she was in so much pain. She was ready to lay down and practice dying for the rest of the night. Lily settled for looking around the Great Hall, as Ron settled in for another scoop of pudding. As she glanced up at the staff table, she noticed a man wearing a purple turban, and beside him, a black-haired man with a long, hooked nose (dressed in full black, as well). Lily suddenly felt a pain in her scar, and her hand shot up to her forehead. She nudged Percy, who had taken up on the other side of her.

“Who’s that professor next to the turban guy?” she asked.

“Well, the turban man is Professor Quirrell, you’ll have him for Defense Against the Dark Arts. As for Professor Snape, he teaches Potions. I wonder why he looks so ill?”

Lily looked at him again. He _did_ look ill. He was as pale as a ghost. He was also staring in her direction. Lily felt uncomfortable, and turned to ask Hermione a question. But before she could do so, the Headmaster stood, and the desserts cleared (Ron groaned, not having finished his ice cream).

“Ahem,” he began. “Just a few more words before you lot head to bed. I have a few start-of-term notices for you. First year students, and some older ones, would do well to remember that the forest of the grounds is off limits to everyone. It is called the Forbidden Forest for a reason, after all.” That earned a few chuckles around the hall.

“I have also been asked to remind you all that absolutely no magic is used to be used in the halls between class periods. That comes from Mr. Filch, our caretaker.

“Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested should ask Madame Hooch for more details. And, as a reminder, first years are _not_ allowed onto the teams, except for very rare exceptions. I shall not name the one who attempted it, but a large donation is not an acceptable excuse for this rule.” The professor’s eyes flitted towards the Slytherin table for a moment.

“And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is off limits to anyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.” A few people laughed, but Lily looked around nervously. Ron and Hermione both gave her a worried look. She heard Percy mention something like not informing the prefects.

“And now, before we head off, let us sing the school song!” Dumbledore waved his wand, and a ribbon flew into the air, forming the lyrics for everybody to read. “Everybody pick your favorite tune, and let us begin.”


	7. Double Potions

Lily awoke early a few days later to somebody shaking her. She cracked open her eyes, saw Hermione beaming at her, then rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

“Grll,” Lily growled as a warning. She hoped that would be enough to scare Hermione away, but it hadn’t worked any of the previous mornings.

Hermione shook her again, and Lily groaned. She sat up, glaring at Hermione, who didn’t seem to notice. Hermione was already wearing her school robes, holding a bag full of her books and supplies. The other girls were still all fast asleep. There was barely any light peeking in from their tower window.

Hermione stood there, patiently waiting. Lily sighed, and rolled out of bed. Weasley stayed exactly where he was, curled up and sleeping. Lily scratched his belly, but he didn’t even open his eyes to look at her.

“I’ll meet you downstairs,” she whispered. Hermione nodded, and left without her. Lily briefly considered rolling back into bed and going back to sleep, but got up instead. Weasley looked up briefly, disturbed, then hopped up. He jumped on Lavender’s bed, snuggling up next to her.

“Traitor,” Lily whispered, heading for the bathroom. Lavender had managed to attain the cat’s favor by offering him a copious amount of treats for simply looking cute. The girl absolutely adored the cat, which Lily couldn’t blame her for. She just hoped Lavender didn’t try to steal Weasley away from her.

Thirty minutes later, Lily came down the stairs, showered and dressed. Hermione was pouring over a textbook, feverishly taking notes.

Lily sat down across the table. Hermione kept writing without looking up.

“I was thinking about the notes you said you took for Potions and Transfiguration,” she said, quill moving very quickly. “It seemed like a good idea, so I thought I’d do the same.”

Lily stared at the other girl, blinking very slowly. “Please tell me we aren’t up this early just so you can go over my notes.”

Hermione looked up, blushing. “Well, no, not to look over _yours._ I was hoping you’d look over mine, as a matter of fact.” Hermione pushed over a completed scroll. Lily unrolled it, staring at the parchment.

“How early did you get up?” Lily asked, letting go of the parchment.

“I’ve been up for a few hours now. Figured I’d let you sleep in a bit.” Hermione said this as if it wasn’t an entirely crazy notion, and that Lily should be thankful for her generosity.

“Right,” Lily said. “Sleep in.” Lily stretched, yawning. “Well, do you want to get some breakfast?” Breakfast always started before the sun rose, for those that either couldn’t sleep or were just early risers. The professors were pretty much the only ones that went this early, but Lily had somehow found herself among them every morning since term started due to a certain bushy-haired individual with large front teeth.

Hermione paused, thinking. “I suppose so. Then we can hit the library afterwards, before Potions.”

“Potions,” Lily repeated sleepily, not paying attention. Hermione stood, packing her things, and Lily dragged her feet behind her as they left the common room. “Have we had Potions yet?” Lily asked as they made their way down towards the Great Hall, brain not quite working yet.

“No, this will be the first day with Potions. And its Double Potions, too!” Hermione’s feet tapped on the floor in excitement as she slowed her pace, waiting for Lily to catch up.

“Lovely,” Lily said, not quite matching the energy of the other girl. All the other Gryffindors despised Potions, mostly for its professor, and the first years from other houses that had already attended their first session had no good things to say about it. Lily rubbed her neck, loosening her tie a bit. Hermione always kept hers prim and proper, but Lily had been sliding into laziness as the week went on. They’d only had a few classes at this point, and the professors hadn’t seemed to care so far. She was pretty sure Professor Binns didn’t even know they were there at all. Ron had managed to leave his shirt completely untucked through most of them. The only professor who had noticed had been Flitwick, and even then, he had only been ordered to tuck it in.

The castle’s layout was _very_ confusing every time Lily had tried to go out on her own, but Hermione always seemed to know where everything was. They had both read Hogwarts: A History (much to Hermione’s excitement), but Hermione had apparently built a complete map of the castle in her mind based just off descriptions.

Hermione had hummed to herself the entire way down to the Great Hall. Lily had been worrying about falling asleep on the staircases, but when one had suddenly decided to switch directions right after she had stepped off of it, she had suddenly become very alert.

“You know, you really should fix your tie,” Hermione said, staring at it as they walked down the entrance hall staircase together. “You’re likely to get in trouble with it hanging loose like that.”

“It’s fine, Hermione. Besides, I can’t stand it tight around my neck.” Lily pushed the door open to the Great Hall, loosening her tie even more now that the bossy girl had said something about it. Now she wasn’t sure if she kept it loose because it was more comfortable, or if it was just to annoy Hermione.

The Great Hall was deserted, with the exception of a few professors. It seemed none of the other students had woken up yet, as was the norm. Lily wished she was still asleep, too. She could really go for a nice, soft bed with a nice, soft cat cuddled up to her right about now.

Lily sat down across from Hermione at the table, who was already pulling the Potions book out of her bag.

“Would you like me to quiz you?” Hermione asked.

“No, thanks,” Lily replied, piling her plate with eggs. She took a sip of pumpkin juice, then shoveled down her food as quickly as she could. She had thought the juice strange for the first week she had lived with the Longbottoms, but now she liked it.

“Why do you always eat so quickly?” Lily couldn’t tell if Hermione said this out of awe, or disgust. She chose to believe the other girl wasn’t judging her, but based off the way she most certainly judged Ron’s eating habits, she most definitely was.

“So nobody can take it,” Lily said nervously, piling more eggs onto her plate and grabbing some sausage. She mad missed too many meals in the past due to an adult deciding that she was done eating for the day.

“I don’t think anybody is going to take your food, Lily,” Hermione said gently.

Lily snorted, a bad trait she had picked up from Ron. “I think you’d be surprised, Hermione. You clearly haven’t met my Aunt and Uncle.”

“I thought you lived with Neville and his grandmother?”

“I do now, yes.” Lily paused, apprehensive. “If it’s okay with you, Hermione, I don’t really want to talk about this. Maybe some other time.”

Hermione looked at her friend. “Okay,” she said finally, “But I hope you’ll tell me at some point.”

Lily chewed, staring at Hermione. She was very glad that her friend didn’t pish the subject. “What about you, Hermione? You never talk about yourself; you’re always just asking me questions about, well, me.”

‘Me?” Hermione said, embarrassed. “Well, what’s to know? I was raised by a pair of muggle dentists, spent most of my time in school, and when I wasn’t in school, I was studying.”

“Surely there’s more than that. What about your friends? Do you miss them, now that you’re in Hogwarts?” Hermione looked uncomfortable, staring at a piece of toast in her hand as if it was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. Lily took the hint and moved on. “What about your birthday? It’s not fair that you get to know mine from a book, when I don’t even know yours.”

“The 19th of September,” Hermione said, finally taking a bite from the interesting toast.

“Hermione, that’s just in two weeks! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Hermione looked baffled. “You don’t need to get me anything, really, Lily.”

“Come on, we at least have to celebrate it! What’s your favorite cake, maybe I can ask McGonagall to let me in the kitchens.”

“Really, Lily-“ Hermione began.

“What did you want to ask me, Miss Potter?” Professor McGonagall asked. She had gotten up to leave, and just happened to be passing by when she heard her name. Or, at least, that’s what Lily chose to believe. She would have been uncomfortable with the thought of McGonagall hovering behind them, eavesdropping on their conversation.

“It’s Hermione’s birthday soon, professor,” Lily said as Hermione sank further down into her seat. “I was wondering if I could make a cake for her in the kitchens.”

“Well, I’m afraid I can’t give you access to the kitchens, as they are off limits for students. But I think I can arrange one to be made for you.” McGonagall smiled at the two girls. Lily had a feeling she was just happy that Lily had made a friend so quickly.

“Thank you, professor, but I really don’t need- “

“Nonsense, Miss Granger. It won’t be the first time I’ve arranged a cake for a student, and I am certain it won’t be the last. I am more than happy to do so for anyone that asks.” McGonagall started to walk away. “And fix that tie, Miss Potter. Next time, I will deduct house points.”

Lily blushed, quickly fixing the tie properly around her neck, and Hermione looked slightly satisfied.

“Well, come on,” Hermione said, stuffing her book back into her bag. “I think you’ve had enough to eat.”

Lily frowned down at her half-full plate. She shoveled some more egg into her mouth as she stood, then grabbed the last two sausage links, eating those as they left the Great Hall.

A few hours later, Hermione and Lily were leaving the library, heading down to the dungeons. Hermione had checked out a book all about the properties of paranormal beings, and had been talking about nonstop since she started it.

“I really think it’s rather interesting, actually,” Hermione said.

“Hermione, does it really matter that a poltergeist isn’t technically a ghost? I don’t think Peeves cares.”

“Well, of course he wouldn’t, but he’s dreadful. I think the other ghosts would be offended if you said that to them, though.”  
“I’ll make sure to keep that in mind. I wouldn’t want one haunting me, specifically, just because I hurt their feelings.” Lily paused. “Do ghosts have feelings?”

“We most certainly do,” Nearly Headless Nick said, passing through the wall near them, nose held high. He continued on his way, pointedly not looking at Lily, although he did smile at Hermione.

Lily looked down, embarrassed. Hermione looked smug.

“You don’t think he’ll tell the other ghosts, do you?” Lily looked back nervously, but couldn’t see Nick, or any other ghosts, anywhere.

“I think you’ll be lucky to get any sleep tonight.”

“If he keeps me up, I’m keeping you up.”

“Well, that doesn’t seem fair,” Hermione said indignantly. “I’m not the one who offended the vengeful spirit.”

“Hey, Hagrid,” Lily called, seeing the giant man walking out of the Great Hall. He stopped so they could approach, smiling under his big, bushy beard. “The ghosts don’t gossip too much, do they?”

“The ghosts? They gossip all the time, they do. Best not get on their bad side.”

Hermione laughed, and Lily buried her face into her hands.

“Say,” Hagrid said, scratching his beard. “If yer don’t have anythin’ goin’ on later, why don’t you two come down to me hut for a spota tea?”

Lily looked to Hermione, who thought for a moment, then nodded.

“Sure, Hagrid, that sounds lovely.” Lily had been hoping Hermione would come up with an excuse to say no, but the girl hadn’t heard the same horror stories she had. Lily liked Hagrid well enough, but McGonagall had scared her off of visiting thus far. _It was only a matter of time, I suppose,_ Lily thought.

“Great, then I’ll see yer around three,” Hagrid set off, waving at the two.

“Well, come on. We have potions first.” Hermione started walking for the dungeons, and Lily jogged to catch up.

“Do you think we’ll have time for lunch before we go? Professor McGonagall said to never eat his cooking.”

“Well, that seems a bit rude. Surely it isn’t too bad.”

Most of the class was standing in front of the classroom when the two arrived, the Slytherins separated from the Gryffindors. The two houses didn’t seem to like mingling. The Gryffindors seemed to have no problems with the Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs, but the serpents were treated differently by all the other houses. Lily felt a little bad about it, but her few attempts to be nice to the Slytherins had ended in tears, so she had given up rather quickly.

Malfoy sneered at Lily as she passed, perhaps considering some rude remark. He obviously couldn’t come up with anything, as Lily managed to arrive near the Gryffindors completely harassment free.

“Where have you two been?” Ron asked as Lily and Hermione chose to stand next to him and Neville. Neville waved hello, and Lily gave him a smile in return.

“Library,” both girls replied as one. Lily glanced at Hermione, but she didn’t seem to notice their synchronicity.

“It’s creepy how you two do that,” Ron said. “Spending time in the library. It’s unnatural, that is.”

Neville chose to not say anything, just waving at Lily. She waved back, giving him a weird look, and the boy finally realized that he had never stopped waving in the first place. He blushed, clearly embarrassed.

The doors to the Potions classroom flew open, Professor Snape eyeing the first years with malice. His eyes froze on Lily for a second before moving on. Professor Snape always made Lily feel uncomfortable. She had yet to say even a single word to the man, but she found him staring at her very often. Nobody else seemed to notice, or even be concerned about it. Hermione had assured her several times that she was simply imagining things.

Professor Snape swept back into the classroom wordlessly, leaving the doors open for the students. Hermione hurried in, always wanting a seat in the front row. Lily took her time to talk to Ron, knowing Hermione would save her a seat.

“You ought to come watch the Quidditch tryouts with me,” Ron said. “It should be a laugh. Fred and George said their prospects of finding a new Seeker are absolutely miserable.”

“What’s Quidditch?” Lily asked, taking a seat next to Hermione. Ron looked at her in shock, sitting next to Neville at another table.

“Silence,” Professor Snape announced from the front of the classroom, staring directly at the Weasley boy. He seemed to ignore the few Slytherin kids who were still talking. “When I call your name, announce yourself.” The professor unfurled a long scroll, beginning at the top.

When Snape approached her name, he paused, eyes glancing in her direction. “Hazel Potter.”

Lily gulped. “I prefer Lily, Professor.” None of the other professors had minded the correction, but something about the way Professor Snape carried himself gave her cause to doubt.

Professor Snape stared at her a little longer. She couldn’t tell if his face had become paler, or if it was simply the dim lighting in the dungeon classroom. Eventually, he moved on. The interruption had gone a lot smoother than she had expected.

“You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making,” Professor Snape continued after the roll call had been finished. His voice was whispery, but everybody kept their attention completely focused on his words. Like Professor McGonagall, he had a reputation for strictness among the student body, and nobody wanted to be called out. “As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses….I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper to death – if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.”

Hermione practically squirmed with excitement. Lily, for her part, tried to look small. She could sense that the professor was about to start calling on people to answer some questions, and she was worried she may forget what she had read if she was called on.

Unfortunately, being seated in the front ruined her attempts at becoming invisible.

“Potter,” Snape called, staring directly at her. She noticed that he had a little more animosity in his voice than he had when he called roll. “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”

Hermione’s hand leapt into the air. Lily thought, for a brief moment, that she was trying to rescue her. Once she saw the expression on Hermione’s face, however, she realized that her friend didn’t even realize Lily was in need of saving.

Lily turned to face Professor Snape, brain desperately racing for the answer it knew it contained.

“Draught of Living Death, sir?” Lily ventured a guess. Hermione put her hand down in a huff.

Professor Snape’s eyes widened, and then narrowed again very quickly. “Correct,” he said, grumbling. “Let’s try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?”

Hermione’s hand shot into the air once again. Lily’s brain found the answer more quickly this time, feeling far more confident having gotten at least one answer correct. “A goat’s stomach, sir.”

“What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?” The professor was no longer angry, Lily could tell, saying her surname regularly instead of with the vitriol he had summoned before. Now he seemed more curious than anything.

“They’re the same plant, professor.” Hermione hadn’t managed to get her hand in the air, this time.

“And their shared name?”

“Aconite, sir.”

Professor Snape’s eyebrows arched in surprise. “Interesting,” he said at last. Several more moments passed, Snape keeping his black eyes locked onto Lily’s green ones. She was very tempted to look away, but thought that would be the worst possible thing she could do in this situation. Lily could feel Hermione staring at the two. Hell, it was likely the entire classroom was.

“Five points to Gryffindor,” Snape said at last, breaking eye contact and turning away. The Slytherins and Gryffindors looked around at each other in equal amounts of confusion. Hermione squirmed in her seat, looking pleased.

“Now,” Professor Snape said as he approached the front of the classroom, waving his wand at the blackboard. “We will be brewing a simple potion today, due at the end of the class period. Follow the instructions on the board _to the letter._ None of you are anywhere near advanced enough to start experimenting, and doing so would be disastrous.” Snape looked around at the class, which still looked confused. “What are you all looking at? You may begin.”

“That was brilliant, Lily,” Hermione said as she began dividing up their ingredients. “Of course, I knew all the answers as well. If only he had called on me.”

“I’m not sure if that would have gone over well,” Ron said from the table over, eyeing Lily. “I’ve heard the professor can get real nasty with students outside of Slytherin.”

“Nonsense,” Hermione said, waving her hand at the boy. “That’s clearly an unfounded rumor. I mean, he just gave Lily five!”

Snape went around the classroom while the students worked, giving clear advice and positive criticism to the Slytherins while giving negative criticism to and admonishing the Gryffindors. Each time he did so, Hermione’s brow furrowed a little more. He pointedly avoided their table, not giving the two so much as a single look. The closest he’d come was to Neville and Ron’s table, and they were more frequently scolded than the rest of the class, perhaps due to the professor’s avoidance of the table in front of them.

Hermione was constantly triple checking that they were following the right step, leaving very little for Lily to do herself. Lily took it upon herself to make sure the two boys at the table next door were doing well, not wanting to lose any points for the house should they screw up. Ron kept looking annoyed at being told what to do, but then she had caught Neville about to add the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire. Snape had been looming near the Gryffindor boys’ table, and sneered when Lily spoke up.

“Very good, Potter,” Snape said. “If this idiot boy had done so, it would have melted the cauldron. Take another point for Gryffindor, for saving me the bother of cleaning up their mess.” Snape walked away, the Slytherins looking at their head of house venomously. They had yet to earn a single point, but he had given their rivals six in the same class period.

Ron turned red. “I was about to stop him myself, you know,” he snapped.

“Then why didn’t you?” Lily asked, turning red herself. She didn’t understand why the boy was getting mad at her for trying to help.

“Thanks, Lily,” Neville said, trying to defuse the tension. “I don’t want to think about what would have happened if you hadn’t stopped me.”

Ron snorted. “What’s the worst that could have happened? It’s just a boil remover.”

“Haven’t you read the book?” Lily asked. “If brewed improperly, the potion can _cause_ painful boils instead of removing them. That’s why it’s so important to follow the directions.

“Well,” Ron said, ears turning red, “Not all of us can have the same free time you seem to. Some of us- “

“That’s enough, Ron,” Neville said, interrupting his friend. Ron looked taken aback, but stopped, clearly fuming.

Lily turned back to her own table, taking over the stirring for Hermione, also fuming. Hermione didn’t seem to take notice, completely absorbed in the classwork.

An hour later, Hermione and Lily were leaving the dungeons, the latter of the two trying to keep her anger in check like Ollivander had advised.

“What is wrong with him?” Lily asked.

“Who, Professor Snape? He seemed okay to me.” Hermione was humming to herself, as she always did when a class went well.

“No, not Snape. Ron.”

“Oh,” Hermione said. “I don’t know, I never really liked him very much. I just put up with him because you seemed to.”

Lily didn’t talk much through the lunch she forced Hermione to attend, choosing instead to spend her time shoveling large amounts of food down her throat. Hermione ate a pittance in comparison.

A half hour before three, Lily and Hermione made their down to Hagrid’s hut. Lily was significantly less angry now. She still muttered occasionally about Ron, but at least it wasn’t all she was thinking about.

“You know, Lily,” Hermione observed as they strolled across the grounds, “I think you may have grown some since the semester began.”

“Really?” Lily asked, trying to get a good look at herself. “It’s only been a few days.”

“I could just be imagining things. You just seem a little taller, that’s all.”

“Well, hopefully it doesn’t stop,” Lily said, knocking on Hagrid’s door. “I’d hate to be stuck down here the rest of my life.”

There was a lot of barking coming from inside Hagrid’s hut. Hermione stood by Lily’s side while they waited for Hagrid to open the door. They could hear a deep voice yelling at the dog, and then the entrance swung open.

“’Ello,” Hagrid said, smiling. “Yer a bit early, ain’t yer?”

“I like to be early,” Hermione said, returning the smile.

“Well, come in then, come in,” Hagrid held the door open, allowing the two first years to come inside. “I’ll get some tea going. Two sugars, right’, Lily?”

“Gran wants me to knock down to one, actually,” Lily said, taking a seat, Hagrid’s dog forcing his head into her lap. She scratched him behind his ears, the dog leaning into her hand.

“Well, I’ll give yer one, then, but don’t let tha’ woman bother yer none.”

“I think she’ll have me drinking it straight by the end of the year.”

Hagrid laid out the cups for the two girls while the kettle boiled. When he poured, Lily was careful to sip the tea, cautious of McGonagall’s words. The tea itself wasn’t bad, although Lily stayed away from the biscuits that Hagrid set out for them. Hermione tried one, then quickly set it down without so much as a scratch on it. She looked at Lily, blushing.

“So, ‘ow were classes, then?’ Hagrid asked, looking between the two girls.

“Great!” Hermione said. She tried to continue on to a spiel all about their week, but Lily quickly decided to interrupt her.

“They were fine,” Lily said, earning her a glare from Hermione.

“Snape didn’t give yer too much trouble, then?”

“Actually,” Hermione began, looking at Lily.  
“Actually, Hagrid, he gave me six points,” Lily finished.

Hagrid nearly spat his tea, going wide-eyed. “He _gave_ you points, you say?”

“Yeah. The Slytherins didn’t seem too pleased about it.” Neither had Ron, for some reason, but she decided not to mention that.

“Well, I’d imagine not, he’s their head of house, after all. Still, that’s great, that is. I’d imagine McGonagall will be right pleased with yer, she will.”

“That might even make up for your tie being undone,” Hermione said, taking a sip of her tea.

Lily stuck her tongue at the other girl, loosening her tie up more once again. She noticed a newspaper sitting on a nearby chair, and frowned at the headline.

“Say, Hagrid,” Lily said, reaching for the _Daily Prophet_ , “Do you mind if I read this?”

“Hmm?” Hagrid hummed pouting himself another rather large cup of tea. He looked up, spying the newspaper. “Oh, help yourself. I’m done wit’ it.”

Lily unfolded the newspaper, Hermione looking at her with curiosity.

**GRINGOTT’S BREAK-IN LATEST**

Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown.

Gringotts’s goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault in question had in fact been emptied the same day.

“But we’re not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what’s good for you,” said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon.

“Say, Hagrid, this break-in happened on my birthday.” Lily was putting together the dots in her head, carefully watching Hagrid’s expressions. She hadn’t interacted with the man very much as of yet, but from what she had experienced, he was basically an open book.

“Err,” Hagrid said, looking uncertain. “I ‘spose so.”

“Weren’t you running an errand to Gringotts for Dumbledore when we ran into you at Diagon Alley?”

“No,” Hagrid said, too quickly. “’Fraid I have no idea what yer talkin’ ‘bout. Like some more tea?” Hagrid poured for her before she could answer.

“It was vault 713, right, Hagrid?”

Hagrid frowned, picking up his large mug. “Mighta been. Can’t say no more, so don’t ask. Important Hogwarts business, that, not to be shared with students.”

Hermione looked at Hagrid, leaning forward. “Hagrid, was it the same vault?”

“Why, look at the time,” Hagrid said, shooting up, “I think you lot better head on up ter the castle.” Hagrid yanked the two from their seats, their protests futile. “See yer soon, don’t forget ter visit,” Hagrid said, pushing them out the door, then closing said door before they could turn around.

“Well,” Hermione said with a huff, placing her hands on her hips. “That was certainly rude.”


	8. Flying Lessons

Lily still hadn’t talked to Ron since the Potions class, despite Neville’s best attempts to reconnect the two. Neville only really had the two friends to begin with, and it seemed he couldn’t stand that they weren’t friends with each other as well.

Ron kept sitting in the back of every class they intended, forcing Neville to sit away from Lily. Lily kept sitting next to Hermione, who refused to move away from the front. She had been working hard (along with Lily, who was working equally as hard, though to less results) to earn points for their house. Between the two of them, they had managed to rack up almost forty points, to the astonishment of their upperclassmen, Lily being seemingly the only Gryffindor to have ever earned points from Professor Snape.

The only professor Lily hadn’t managed to earn a single point from was Professor McGonagall. McGonagall had even taken a couple of points from her, catching her in the halls with her tie loose, to follow up on her threat. Ron had snorted the first time it happened, then earned a similar admonishment for his own sloppy attire. That hadn’t earned Lily points in his favor, as not only did he lose a house point, but she also gave him a lecture in front of his peers. Lily couldn’t help but sneer at him, loosening her tie as soon as McGonagall turned her attention elsewhere.

When she and Hermione returned from supper one night, they found Ron in the common room, arguing loudly with Lavender.

“Just keep the cat away from Scabbers!” He shouted, clinging his rat rather tightly to his chest.

“He’d never touch your ugly rat!’ Lavender shouted back, holding Weasley in her arms. Lily didn’t know whether to be offended by Lavender for taking control of her cat, or happy that she was defending the feline’s honor.

Ron looked over at Lily, fuming, having just noticed her watching the feud. “Why’s she have to watch your hairball anyway? Can’t even take proper care of your own cat?”

Lily could feel her temper boiling, and she grabbed Weasley from Lavender’s arms. Lavender huffed. “What do you want with Weasley, anyway?”

“He tried to get Scabbers!” Ron shoved his rat into Lily’s face. Weasley didn’t reach for the rat, he simply stared at it in fascination, pupils dilated.

“Oh, yes,” Lily threw back, “He’s just so vicious, isn’t he? Look at the blood thirsty monster! What ever was I thinking?” Lily tried to back up, and ran into Hermione, who had been standing behind her, watching the affair.

“You didn’t spend the last five minutes chasing after them, did you? I practically had to throw him off Scabbers, and where were you?”

“I was eating, thank you very much.” Lily turned to storm off to the dormitory, then stopped, turning back. “And for your information, Weasley hasn’t hurt a single thing, he even spent a month with Trevor. He just wanted to play, that’s all.”

“Oh, you’re _so_ right,” Ron said, staring coldly at them both. “They were just playing tag, weren’t they? That’s what cats are known for, yeah?” Ron stormed off to the boy’s dormitory before Lily could think of a reply. Lily growled, then stormed off to her own room.

Lily slammed the door shut behind her, then tossed Weasley onto the bed. The cat landed gracefully then licked his paw, running it on his face to clean himself.

“You stay away from that rat, got it? You’re going to get me in trouble.” Lily slammed the door shut again on her way out, deciding that a nice hot shower was in order.

Lily came back down the common room afterwards, wearing only the shirt and skirt, having shed the cloak and tie. She untucked the shirt as she was going down the staircase, deciding that it was far more comfortable. Hermione was studying at an empty table, still dressed in her school robes. There was no sign of Ron or Neville, the latter of which had remained seated and silent during the entirety of their fight, not wanting to intervene. Lavender was also missing, Lily noticed. Lily sat across from Hermione, pulling her charms book out of her bag that Hermione had set aside for her.

“Where’s Lavender?” she grumbled. She stared down at Hermione’s parchment, noticing that she had already written far more than what was required.

“Upstairs, taking care of her precious Weasleykins with Parvati.” Hermione continued scratching away at this week’s homework, writing in her tiny, tiny script.

“She’s the reason that cat’s so spoiled.” Lily pulled out her own quill and parchment. “Weasley hasn’t hunted since Trevor attacked him, Scabbers should have been fine.”

“Wait,” Hermione said, setting down her quill to look at Lily. “He actually _was_ hunting Scabbers?”

“Of course he was,” Lily said, scratching away at her own parchment in her far more sloppy script. “He’s a cat, Hermione. That’s what they do when they see a rat.”

“Then why didn’t you just apologize to Ron?”

“Because that would be letting him win,” Lily said as if it was obvious. “And I refuse to be the first to apologize.”

Hermione sniffed. “You know, I bet Neville is upstairs right now having this same conversation with Ron. I hope he’s having better luck that I am.”

“I thought you didn’t even like Ron! Why do you care that I should apologize?” Lily put her own quill down, locking eyes with her brown-eyed best friend.

“Well, he can be funny, you know? He’s growing on me.” Hermione didn’t seem to quite be telling the truth, but Lily decided not to push it, assuming she just didn’t like Lily arguing with somebody she had once considered a friend. “Besides, regardless of my opinion of him, that doesn’t mean that I want his rat to die. You should apologize to him.” Hermione crossed her arms, trying to bully Lily into a decision.

Lily chose, knowing Hermione didn’t want it. “Well if you like him so much,” Lily said, gathering her things into her bag, “Then you can go study with _him_. I’m going to the library.” Lily threw her bag over her shoulder, heading for the exit.

“Lily, wait,” Hermione called. ‘I’m sorry, Lily! Please! You can’t go out dressed like that!”

Lily pretended not to hear, already passing through the Fat Lady’s Portrait. She heard Hermione shout some more as the portrait swung closed behind her, although she couldn’t make out what she was saying. Lily walked quickly to the staircase, heading down. The library was only open for another hour, but she intended to make full use of it.

Unfortunately, she ran into Professor McGonagall on the way down, who must have been patrolling the corridors. She looked sharply at Lily as she attempted to move on by.

“Miss Potter,” McGonagall said, stopping Lily from passing her with a hand firmly grasped on her arm. “Where, may I ask, do you think you are going?”

“To the library, professor.” Lily knew what was coming, and so didn’t meet her eyes.

“And where, may I ask, are your cloak and tie? Why, may I ask, do you always insist on not being in the proper uniform? You don’t even have your shirt tucked in.” Lily could feel McGonagall’s eyes burning into her, and felt her face blush. Thankfully, nobody else was around to see this.

“Classes are over, professor,” Lily said, knowing it wouldn’t save her.

“I do believe it is in the school rules that _all students_ are required to wear their _proper uniform_ when they are outside of the common room. Do I need to give you another copy of said rules?”

“No, professor,” Lily said, looking down at her feet. At this point, she was just waiting for the points to be deducted. She knew there’d be a second lecture once Hermione found out.

“I think a detention is in order, Miss Potter.”

Lily looked up, startled. The older woman was giving her a stern look, looking very disappointed. “But, Professor, that isn’t fair!”

“Be lucky it isn’t more. I expect _all_ Gryffindors to comply by the rules, and you are no exception, no matter how brilliant of a student you are. You will be serving a detention with me tomorrow, I think, and we will be going over the proper dress code. For now, I shall be escorting you back to your dormitory.” The professor began climbing the stairs, dragging the stunned Lily back with her. “Be thankful this is all I have the time for tonight. If I wasn’t on my way to visit the headmaster, I would give the whole house a lecture. That Weasley boy could stand to receive a detention as well.”

“Fortuna Major,” the professor said when they had arrived back at the Fat Lady. She herded Lily inside. “Goodnight, Miss Potter. I shall see you noon sharp.” McGonagall turned and left.

Lily stood in the entryway, debating whether or not it was better to run up to the dorm and die or to die where she was. The portrait opened up behind her, and each Weasley twin put an arm around her shoulders, pushing her forward.

“Cheer up, love,” one said, whisking her into the empty common room.

“Yeah, you should be honored to receive a detention this early in the semester,” the other said. He gave Lily a firm pat on the back, looking very proud.

“We’ve got our third coming up, ourselves. You’ll have to work hard if you want to catch up. Isn’t that right, Fred?”

“Quite right, George. Although you’re certainly off to a good start. We could give you some pointers, if you’d like.”

“Take you under our wings, as it were.”

“Everybody needs a good mentor, or so we hear.”

The twins sat Lily down on the couch, taking a seat on both sides of her. The fire was crackling in the hearth, leaving the room feeling rather toasty. Lily only wished she could feel the fire’s warmth, as right now she was rather cold inside.

“Besides,” Fred began again, “You’re practically family, taking care of our little brother for us.”

“Ron and I haven’t-“ Lily began before being interrupted, thinking of their earlier argument.

“Oh, we aren’t talking about ickle Ronniekins, dear sister,” George said, wagging his finger, which notably had a small scar on it.

“Quite right, George. We’re talking about that furry friend of yours.”

“A right rapscallion, he is. Couldn’t be prouder.”

“Weasley?” Lily asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “What have you been doing to my cat?”

“Well,“ Fred said, smiling. “We may have asked for his help for a wee little joke.”

“Ickle Ronniekins has been a bit of a prick lately, you see,” George said.

“So we may have rubbed some catnip on a certain rat,” Fred said.

“That way a certain cat would chase said rat,” George said.

“Wait,” Lily said, getting angry. “You’re why Weasley was chasing Scabbers? He could have killed him!” Lily made to stand up, but Fred pushed her back down.

“It was all in good fun, don’t worry,” George said.

“Yeah, we were watching the whole thing, wands at the ready,” Fred said.

“We aren’t cruel, we wouldn’t have actually let said rat eat said cat,” George said.

“I think you mean said cat eat said rat, Fred,” said Fred, trying to confuse Lily.

“Whichever, honestly, Scabbers can be rather vicious, as you well know, George,” said George, playing along.

“Quite right, Fred. I still have that scar on my finger from when that stupid rat bit me.” Fred held up his finger, revealing not a single mark on it.

“And all we did was try to turn that fat rat yellow,” said George, cleverly hiding his finger from Lily, thinking she wouldn’t notice.

“Speaking of which, has Ron showed you our spell yet?”

“We’ve been dying to find out if it works.”

“Figured at the very least we’d get a kick out of embarrassing ickle Ronniekins.”

Lily stood, brushing the twins’ hands aside. “I’m going to bed.” Lily walked off with her bag, ignoring the twins calling for her. Lily made sure to knock on the dorm room door before she entered to make sure everybody was decent (Lavender had freaked out the one time her and Hermione had walked in on her changing).

Lavender was laying on her bed, playing with Weasley by trailing a fake rat on a string around the floor.

“That isn’t helping anything,” Lily said, dumping her bag on the ground before plopping onto her own bed.

“Hermione made it for me,” Lavender hummed. “Besides, look, he isn’t even chewing the fake rat. Why would he go after the real one?”

Lily looked, seeing that she was right. Weasley gave a few smacks with his paws, sure, but he never even tried to bite it. Feeling smug, she looked around for her buck-toothed friend, but didn’t see her anywhere.

“Where’s Hermione?’ she asked.

“Said she was heading to the library to get you,” Lavender returned. “Didn’t she come in with you?”

Lily frowned. “No, she didn’t.” Lily suddenly felt very bad. She hadn’t intended to hurt Hermione’s feelings, but she suddenly realized that she must have. She suddenly felt ashamed of herself. “I think I’m going to bed early,” she said, closing the curtains around her bed so that the other girls didn’t have to look at her. Lavender simply hummed in response, continuing to play with Weasley.

An hour later, Lily heard Hermione return to the room. She only knew it was her because shortly after the sound of the door opening came the sound of Hermione closing the curtains around her own bed.

Lily awoke late the next morning, Hermione having apparently decided not to wake her. Lily didn’t know if the reason was because it was a weekend, or if Hermione was still feeling hurt.

Lily showered and dressed in a hurry, determined to make breakfast before it ended. She practically ran down the staircases, making sure to slow down whenever she passed where any teachers could be.

She had barely sat down at the Gryffindor table, reaching for the platter of sausage, when all the food disappeared.

“No!” Lily groaned, burying her head in her hands. She was _very_ hungry. Lily sat there for a good ten minutes, hearing the students (who had managed to enjoy their breakfast) pass by her as they left. Nobody tried disturbing Lily. Finally, Lily sat up, determined to make lunch at the very least. As she exited the Great Hall, she remembered that she had detention with McGonagall at lunch time and would, in fact, _not_ be making lunch.

Lily wandered the halls, wondering what she should do. She didn’t want Hermione ignoring her, not when Ron was still hostile. She briefly considered apologizing to Ron after all, or at least telling him about what his brothers had done. She decided that she needed to talk to Hermione first, though. Lily knew exactly where _she’d_ be on a Saturday morning, at least.

Lily walked as quickly as she could to the library, deciding it was best to get it over with. She figured Hermione would scold her, but then she’d at least have somebody to complain about the detention to.

Lily made sure to straighten her tie before she entered. _Best get off to a good start,_ she thought. It was time to turn over a new leaf, after all.

Lily found Hermione sitting at their usual table. Only, this time, she was sitting there with Ron and Neville. Their bags took up the remainder of the chairs, leaving Lily with nowhere to sit. Neville was the only one who seemed to notice her, and she turned away, tears coming to her eyes. She quickly walked away, not noticing that Neville had attempted to wave to her.

Lily quickly made her way to the second-floor girl’s bathroom, knowing for sure that it’d be the only place where absolutely no one would be. She brushed past Lavender and Parvati, who tried to call out to her. She managed to hold the tears in long enough to close the bathroom door behind her, slumping against it. She could hear Moaning Myrtle howling, but it only served to hide her own sounds.

Lily sat there for over an hour, feeling rather sorry for herself. It was only when she realized that she’d miss her detention with McGonagall if she stayed there any longer that she finally mustered the willpower to get off the floor. Lily wiped at her eyes, trying to look less sad. She gave her face a nice wash at the sink, feeling better after drying off.

She left the bathroom, still sniffing, and headed down to the first floor. If she was late to her first, and hopefully only, detention, McGonagall would probably kill her. Or, at the very least, tell Gran, who would actually kill her.

She knocked on McGonagall’s office, having arrived five minutes early. She had stood there for five minutes, considering waiting until exactly the right time, but decided that being slightly earlier might earn her more points with the professor. She was, of course, wrong. But, eventually, being optimistic would pay off, she hoped.

“Come in,” the professor called. She pushed the door open nervously, standing at attention. She hoped her tie was still proper, she hadn’t checked it in her melancholy.

The professor sniffed. “I see you’ve finally got the memo,” she said. “Take a seat.” She waved a hand at an empty chair sitting at a desk. It had a rather large stack of papers and a quill sitting upon it.

“You’ll be helping me grade papers, Miss Potter. You’ll be going through the first year’s assignments first, minus your own house, of course. I also took out the Malfoy boy’s. I wouldn’t want you giving him a lower grade then he deserves.”

Lily frowned, ashamed that she had been excited to do so. She sat down at the desk, hoping this wouldn’t take too long. Her stomach growled in agreement.

Six hours later, Lily exited the office, happy that she’d at least be able to make supper. She hadn’t gone this long without a meal since she lived with the Dursley’s, and had grown accustomed to being full. She hadn’t expected it to take so long, but the papers just never stopped appearing. And once she had finished the first and second years (the only grades McGonagall thought was appropriate for her to supervise) transfiguration work, Professor Flitwick had arrived at the door to deliver _more_ papers for Lily to grade, followed soon after by Professor Snape. McGonagall had looked quite satisfied with Lily’s reaction to that surprise.

At the very least, Snape and Flitwick hadn’t been as meticulous in removing things that Lily would be biased towards, and she had managed to fail Malfoy’s assignments. She didn’t think either would notice. She had considered Ron and Hermione’s as well, but she knew that’d be too obvious. Neville had simply earned his failing grades, but she had bumped him up to passing out of guilt.

Lily sat down at the Gryffindor table, not even looking for Hermione. Hermione normally ate an early dinner, as soon as it was opened, so that she could maximize her study time. Lily ate her fill, then made her way to towards the common room. She stopped by the library first, just to check. The three were still sitting there at the same table, bags still reserving the empty chairs. In fact, one chair was missing, right next to Hermione, where Lily would normally sit. Somebody must have needed an extra, and she hadn’t bothered to hold it. Lily felt hurt again, but didn’t want to cry in the bathroom again. She made her way upstairs instead.

She passed by the notice board on her way to bed, noticing that the first years would have Flying Practice on Thursday with the Slytherins. _Great_ , she thought, hoping that Malfoy would at least fall off his broom. Lavender was sitting in a chair near the fire talking to Parvati, with Weasley sitting in her lap. Lily sniffed as she walked past the two, deciding that she’d go to bed early again.

Hermione didn’t wake her up the next day, either, or the day after that. In fact, Hermione didn’t bother all week. When Lily had arrived late to Transfiguration on Monday morning (having gotten lost without Hermione to guide her, and earning her a deduction of three house points), she had found that Ron and Neville had taken up on either side of her bushy haired companion. There was still a seat next to Ron, but she took up in the back next to Dean and Seamus instead, earning her side glances from the boys.

Charms went much the same way, as well as Defense Against the Dark Arts. Each time she had arrived, Hermione had been surrounded by the two boys. In charms, she had at least noticed, and looked apologetic, but that wasn’t enough for Lily, who was forced to sit next to others each time. In Potions, she had chosen to make Hermione sit by herself instead of going to the empty seat. She sat next to Lavender, instead. Lavender had been excited, knowing it meant Snape would leave their table alone, although Parvati had been upset that it forced her to go up front with Hermione.

During Potions, Lily decided that the best revenge was self-improvement, and settled on making sure she beat Hermione in every subject. Eventually, Hermione would _have_ to come back, begging Lily to help her study, and only then would Lily forgive her.

When Thursday finally rolled around, Lily got up before Hermione. She showered and dressed and stole Hermione’s favorite table, setting it up to study. She made sure to move the chair to the side so she could rest her bag in it. Hermione had looked slightly excited when she came down and saw the situation, but that had quickly turned to hurt once she realized Lily wasn’t going to let her sit there.

Lily packed up as soon as breakfast opened, and saw Hermione taking the table back as soon as she left. She ate a hurried breakfast, then quickly went to the library. She took up at Hermione’s favorite table once more, moving every single chair to a separate table. She knew nobody else would come to the library this early on a Thursday morning, and so nobody else would need the table space. It was only on the weekend’s that she’d have to worry about others complaining. Madame Pince had glared at her for it, but as it wasn’t technically breaking any rules, she had said nothing,

Lily had become absorbed in her work, and hadn’t noticed Hermione arrive until it was time to leave. She had set up at her own table across the room, pointedly giving Lily as much space as possible. Lily suddenly felt bad, but decided she just wouldn’t steal the table anymore. She’d find her own table.

That afternoon, after a Charms lesson, Lily made her way to the school grounds for the flying lesson. She found most of the class already there when she arrived, including Hermione, who had somehow made it outside faster than Lily despite leaving last. Lily took a spot directly across from Hermione. She would have preferred further, but this was as good as she could get without being next to a Slytherin or Ron. She sniffed, deciding that she needed to learn all the shortcuts through the school as quickly as possible. _I’ll ask Fred and George_ , she thought. They _had_ offered to mentor her, after all.

“Good afternoon,” Madame Hooch said as she arrived, well after the full class had met. “Well, what are you waiting for? Stand over a broom.” That had been directed to the few students who hadn’t yet picked a spot, including Neville, who seemed terrified of his prospects in the air.

Lily suddenly felt afraid as well. She hadn’t considered flying at all the entire time they had been at school, even after she had read the notice for flying lessons. _Am I afraid of heights?_ She asked herself. Lily gulped. _I suppose I’ll find out in a second._

“Stand over the broom, hold your hand over it, and say ‘Up.’” Madame Hooch commanded.

“Up!” the class repeated. Lily’s broom immediately flew into her hand, although she was one of the few it worked for. Lily felt satisfied, noting that Hermione’s hadn’t moved at all. 

“Very good, “ Madame Hooch said as the last student (Neville) finally got their broom into their hand. “Now, mount the broom, and when I blow my whistle, kick hard off the ground. Rise a few meters into the air, fly forward a few, and then come right back down. Ready?” Madame Hooch raised the whistle to her lips, but before she could blow, Neville rose into the air.

Madame Hooch let the whistle drop from her lips. “Come back, boy!” she shouted. But Neville kept rising into the air, very quickly. He was ten feet in the air, then twenty, and then he lost his balance and fell from the broom. He managed not to scream as he fell, but Lily could see that his mouth was open for one.

He hit the ground with a loud _WHAM_ , and a nasty crunch filled the air. Madame Hooch ran towards him, pale faced.

“Broken wrist,” Lily heard her say. “Come on, boy, Madame Pomfrey can fix this for you in a jiffy.” Madame Hooch glared at the other students as she helped Neville up. “And none of you are to leave the ground until I return. If you do, you’ll be out of Hogwarts before you can say ‘Quidditch.’” She led Neville off, leaving the class thunderstruck.

Malfoy started laughing, and soon the rest of the Slytherins joined in. “Did you see his face?” he managed between fits. “Oh, that was priceless, that was.”

“Stuff it, Malfoy,” Ron said, ears glowing red.

“And what are you going to do about it, Weasley? Don’t you have a rat to catch? We wouldn’t want your family to go hungry, would we?” The Slytherins laughed again, and Ron grew redder, eyes flicking to Lily.

“Look at this!” Malfoy bent over, scooping a glass orb off the ground. “The fat oaf must have dropped it,” Malfoy said, showing off the Remembrall.

“Give it here,” Lily said, walking forward. She might not be talking to him at the moment, but she wasn’t going to let anybody steal Neville’s belongings.

“Or you’ll do what?” Malfoy questioned, kicking off into the air. “Why don’t you come get it, if you’re so big?” Malfoy laughed as he soared above the rest of the class. The Slytherins laughed too, certain Lily wouldn’t dare to follow. But Lily hadn’t been sorted to Gryffindor for nothing.

Lily mounted her broom, seeing red. Hermione grabbed her by the arm.

“Lily, don’t,” she said. “You’ll be expelled if they find out!” The bushy haired girl bit her lip, looking wild-eyed.

“What do you care?” Lily asked, kicking off from the ground. She didn’t enjoy the look on Hermione’s face as she lifted off the ground, feeling ashamed of herself.

That feeling was brief, however, as Lily quickly realized that flying felt _good_. She was tempted to try a trick, maybe do a loop, but then she saw Malfoy sneering at her,

“Grown a bit of courage?” he said, “Looks like the cowardly lion had her wish granted after all.”

Lily charged at Malfoy, who barely managed to swerve out of the way in time. He flew upwards, away from the castle, Lily in hot pursuit. He glanced behind, face filled with terror, then swerved out of the way just before Lily could ram him.

“Give it here, Malfoy,” Lily commanded, “Or I’ll knock you off your broom.” She didn’t actually intend to, of course. She was pretty sure killing a fellow student would result in far worse than expulsion, even if that student was Malfoy.

Malfoy eyed the crowd below, looking nervous. Then, he smiled. He turned, throwing the Remembrall towards the castle. Lily flew past him, speeding towards it, eyes tracking the glass orb. She almost lost sight of it, but the sun had come out at exactly the right moment, and she saw the reflection as it dipped towards the ground. She dived, grabbed the remembrall, and then barely pulled out of it before she could smack into the ground. She pulled up, the rest of the Gryffindors running towards her (sans Hermione and Ron). They surrounded her, somebody ruffling her hair. She reached up to cover the scar before anybody could see.

“LILY POTTER!” somebody shouted. Lily’s heart sank. _I know that voice_ , she thought as she turned around to face Professor McGonagall.

The professor was red faced, and more than a little bewildered.

“Why, I never- not in all my years at Hogwarts,” the professor stammered. “Come with me, Potter. We have to talk.”

The Slytherins cheered this time as Lily was led along, Malfoy smiling with glee.

Lily dragged her feet behind McGonagall, silently saying her goodbyes to the castle. She realized she’d even miss Peeves as they approached the second floor. Lily assumed they were heading towards the dormitory to pack her things.

_I never got to apologize to Hermione_ , she thought as they climbed to the third floor. She hoped the professor would at least give her that chance before she was kicked out.

Suddenly, the professor turned left, down towards Professor Quirrell’s classroom. Puzzled, Lily followed behind. The professor stopped at the classroom door, then knocked.

“I’m sorry, professor,” she said as she poked her head in, “But may I borrow Wood for a moment?”

“Yes, of course,” she heard the turban covered man answer from within the classroom.

_That’s it?_ Lily thought. _They’re just going to beat me?_ Lily knew she shouldn’t be excited about physical punishment, but it was certainly better than being expelled, at least in her opinion. She doubted Gran would still let her stay with her if she was expelled, and she’d get much worse than that when she returned to the Dursleys.

A fifth-year boy emerged from the classroom, looking confused. Lily recognized him from the common room. He was wearing his shiny badge, signifying him as the Quidditch captain for Gryffindor. Lily’s heart simultaneously sank and rose, the lack of punishment exciting, but the actual results frightening.

Oliver Wood eyed Lily, curious as to why she was there. “Follow me, you two,” the professor said as she went back down the hall. Lily summoned up her nerves, following the two as they walked.

She took them to her office on the first floor, closing the door behind them after the two students had seated themselves. She sat at her desk, facing the two.

“Wood, this is Lily Potter,” she said at last. “Lily, this is Oliver Wood. Wood, I’ve found you a Seeker.”

Wood’s brow furrowed, confused, the expression on his face quickly changing to excitement as he processed what she said.

Lily’s heart finished sinking. _This is exactly what I was worried about,_ she thought. Lily bit her bottom lip.

“Professor, are you sure?” Wood asked. “She’s a first year, how good can she be?” Wood was questioning it, but he was still very clearly ecstatic.

“She’s a natural. I’ve never seen anything like it. She caught this from a fifty-foot dive.” She held up the Remembrall she had confiscated from Lily. “I’m not even sure Charlie could have made that catch.”

Wood hopped up from his seat, clearly overwhelmed. “She’s got the right build, that’s for sure, although she could stand to grow just a bit more. She’ll need a good broom, too, professor, at least the newest Cleansweep.”

“I shall handle the broom, Wood,” the professor said, looking very satisfied.

“Professor?” McGonagall looked shocked to hear Lily speak. She had to ask anyway. “What would happen if I said no?”

Wood looked shocked that she would even consider saying no, but McGonagall simply smiled. “Well, you’d have to serve detention with me every weekend for the rest of the school year, I’m afraid.”

“That’s what I was worried about,” Lily said, accepting the position on the Quidditch team.


	9. Bathroom Trolls

Lily found that she was suddenly very busy. She now had Quidditch practice three times a week on top of all the classwork she needed to do. And on top of _that_ Hermione _still_ wasn’t talking to her. The only person that would talk to her was Lavender, and she never stopped going on about how cute Weasley was. Parvati wouldn’t take to her because she kept sitting next to Lavender in Potions.

Dean and Seamus just seemed uncomfortable when Lily was around, but she had kept sitting next to the two in Transfiguration anyway. In Charms, she had taken to sitting with the Ravenclaws, but they preferred to mingle with students from the same house. Flying practice had already finished, but Lily wasn’t expected to attend past the first one, since she made the Quidditch team. History of Magic she was incapable of staying awake through, now that Hermione wasn’t there to shake her every few minutes. Defense Against the Dark arts was equally miserable. Professor Quirrell’s stutter only seemed to get worse as the semester wore on, which made the classes feel utterly unbearable. Herbology she spent with the Hufflepuffs, who just seemed afraid of her. She assumed it was because she always had a miserable expression on her face. During Astronomy, her fellow students were just too tired to talk to anybody at all.

Fred and George had taught her a few shortcuts around the school once they found out that Lily was on the Quidditch team, but outside of practice and a few, short mentorship sessions, they didn’t talk to her either. They had their own friends, after all. Still, they did teach her a useful charm for increasing friction on her broomstick, which kept her seated more than a few times. The rest of the Quidditch team was equally reluctant to hang out with a first year. Well, except for Wood, but trying to talk with him just turned into another lecture about the proper importance of broom care and maintaining your practice routine.

Professor Flitwick was nice, but he only really had the time to keep up with his own house, and the same went for Professor Sprout. Professor Snape continued ignoring Lily’s presence at all times except for when it was absolutely necessary to interact with her. Lily was worried Professor McGonagall would just embarrass her by lecturing Hermione, so she chose to ignore that possibility. McGonagall had provided that cake for Hermione’s birthday, but Lily ran into Peeves on the way to deliver it, and he had thrown a dung bomb into it. Lily had been too nervous to wish her a happy birthday without the present, and that had only seemed to make Hermione more upset (even though she had specifically asked them not to bother in the first place). Professor Dumbledore never seemed to be around when Lily needed him.

All this meant that Lily was very lonely. She was doing well in her classes, sure. She had managed to beat Hermione in everything except for Transfiguration and History of Magic. But that hadn’t made Hermione talk to her. In fact, it she was pretty sure it made Hermione ignore her even more. The girl was constantly buried in a book, trying to pull back ahead. Lily considered letting her get back in front, but seeing as how studying was all she really had to do anymore, she couldn’t even do that much. It was either study or do nothing at all, and Lily had to have _something._

As the semester rolled into October, all the cliques became ever more set in stone. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had started leaving no empty seats near them, forcing Lily to sit near the edge of the Gryffindors, who still weren’t talking to her. Neville had tried sitting next to her one day in Transfiguration, for which she had been extremely grateful, but she had made him go back to Ron. She didn’t want him to be friendless, too. She came to regret that decision, seeing as he never tried again.

During the days, at least when she wasn’t studying or in class, Lily spent her time in Hagrid’s hut, having tea with the gentle giant. He was friendly enough, as long as Lily didn’t bring up the Gringotts vault. He even listened to Lily cry on especially bad days, offering her some level of comfort. But it wasn’t the same. She just wanted Hermione to talk to her again. Hermione had apparently taken up tea with Hagrid on the days Lily couldn’t make it, but Hagrid wouldn’t say what they talked about. He just kept saying they should make up already.

October was almost over, and Lily had still made no progress on getting Hermione to forgive her. She had tried talking to Ron, intending to apologize. She had hoped that would be her ticket back into Hermione’s good graces. Unfortunately, she had chosen the worst possible time for such an apology. Ron had just spent the past thirty minutes being lectured by Snape in front of the whole class about the importance of paying attention. Lily had thought it would cheer him up, but he had brushed her off quite rudely. That had sent her crying to Hagrid’s, who had assured her that people liked her, and Ron would come around, surely.

Her only comfort was Weasley, but he was only really available at night. And, being a cat, he couldn’t really hold a conversation. Lily had tried to find some spell in the library that would allow her to talk to the feline fiend, but to no avail. Lavender kept hogging him whenever she was awake, despite Lily repeatedly informing her that Weasley was, in fact, not her cat, but Lily’s. Lavender had seemed to ignore that. Parvati and Lily had shared a brief moment over being ignored in favor of a cat, but then Parvati remembered that she didn’t like Lily, and that brief comradery had ended in tears once again.

Halloween morning, Lily had been considering making friends with Moaning Myrtle (the only ghost that didn’t seem to hate her after the Peeves incident) when she realized she was absolutely hopeless. If she befriended Myrtle of all people, then nobody would ever talk to her. Well, some of the boys might have, but that was only because they didn’t understand how dreadful Myrtle was. If they knew she sometimes peeped on them in their own bathroom, they’d probably change their minds very quickly. Lily had only found that out when Myrtle had told her. Lily had been crying in the second-floor bathroom one day, since it was Hermione’s turn with Hagrid. That was what sparked the revelation, and Lily vowed to not return to the Chamber of Moaning Myrtle.

Lily went into Charms feeling absolutely terrible. She hadn’t even eaten breakfast that morning, finding that she had no appetite. It had been all she had to just get out of bed. Hermione had at least acknowledged that she looked absolutely awful. It was the first time they had talked in over a month. Lily figured it was progress, even if it didn’t make her feel any better.

Lily hadn’t even bothered tucking her shirt in or even wearing her tie properly. She had hoped to find the time to do so before the lesson, but she had wanted to get away from Myrtle as quickly as possible. Professor Flitwick looked like he was considering saying something about it as he called roll, but moved on instead. She knew she’d get another detention from McGonagall if she saw, but they didn’t have Transfiguration today, so she didn’t think it mattered. Afternoon classes had been canceled in favor of the holiday. She’d just have to pretty up before the feast and hope she just didn’t run into their head of house before then.

“Now,” Professor Flitwick squeaked when roll call was done. “I’m going to be dividing you all up into partners for today’s assignment. Now, now, don’t grumble,” he said as the class looked ready to rebel. He looked straight at Lily, and she understood that he was doing this so she wouldn’t be left out. She didn’t know whether to be grateful or offended. She settled on continuing to be miserable instead, really hoping she wouldn’t get paired up with Hermione.

She got paired up with Ron, instead, which was almost worse. He looked more upset with the decision than Lily felt. Hermione had managed to get paired up with Neville, who looked excited to be with one of the two star students. Lily suddenly wished she _had_ been paired up with Hermione, cursing herself for wanting otherwise. She buried her face in her hands, laying on the desk, just in time to miss Hermione looking at her remorsefully.

“You look, uh,” Ron said, not bothering to finish his sentence. Lily had come back up for air, looking much worse for wear.

“Wonderful, I know.” Lily didn’t meet his eyes. She didn’t know if she could handle Ron today, but at least she could go hide in the library after this. Ron had stopped coming to the library weeks ago, although Lily didn’t know why. He couldn’t be fighting with Hermione; they still sat next to each other in every class but Potions. Parvati took over there, casting glares at Lily every chance she got for stealing the seat next to Lavender. Lily didn’t know why she cared, personally. Lavender never shut up. She would have been happy for the break.

“Now,” Flitwick said once everybody was paired. “We’ll be working on the levitation charm today. Repeat after me: ‘ _Wingardium Leviosa_.’”

“ _Wingardium Leviosa_ ,” the class repeated. Lily noticed that Ron’s annunciation was off, but she didn’t say anything. She didn’t feel like another argument. Lily didn’t know if it was just the way she worded things, but Ron had never appreciated her advice.

“Very good,” Flitwick continued. “Now, be _very_ sure you are pronouncing it correctly. The spell shouldn’t backfire, but you won’t get it to work if you don’t speak very clearly. Now, the wand motion is very simple. Swish, and flick.” Flitwick demonstrated the maneuver. “Swish, and flick. You all try it now, go on. Swish, and flick. Swish on the Wingardium, flick on the Leviosa. Swish, and flick. Very good, very good. Now, let’s see you all try it. If you both can get it working before class ends, I’ll let you get away with no homework. Otherwise, you’ll have to write me a paper explaining what you were doing wrong. And, yes, that means _both_ of you. This is a team assignment, after all. Well, go on then, get started, and remember to help your partners.”

Ron cleared this throat. “ _Wingardium Leviosa_ ,” he said while flicking his wand.

“You have to swish it first,” Lily corrected. She hadn’t intended to help him, but the words had come out before she could stop them. She quickly slapped a hand over it, realizing that she had reacted much like Hermione would do when she was surprised.

Ron’s ears turned red, but he tried again. “ _Wingardium Leviosa_ ,” he said, swishing his wand. The feather didn’t move, not even a millimeter. Lily realized she would have laughed once before, but no longer had the energy to do so.

“You have to do both, Ron,” Lily said. “Swish and _then_ flick.” _In for a penny, in for a pound,_ Lily thought. Maybe this would be the time that worked.

Lily watched Ron attempt for ten more minutes, becoming increasingly more frustrated. She kept trying to give pointers, but he just wasn’t getting it. Hermione had yet to attempt it herself, as she was more concerned with making sure Neville didn’t hurt the both of them. Hermione did occasionally look back at Lily, looking pleased about something. Lily just didn’t feel up to the attempt right now, determined to help Ron get it first. She had already practiced the spell during one of her many study sessions, and she was _very_ confident she could get it to work. Most of the class hadn’t gotten the spell to work quite right, the best being Seamus who had gotten it to move slightly. Lily had seen Dean sniggering while he went on, having blown on it to mess with his friend. She briefly considered doing it to Ron, if only for a confidence boost, but he had also seen what Dean had done.

“ _Wingardium Leviosa_ ,” Ron yelled, flicking his wand several times. Ron had a tendency to give up too quickly. If he didn’t get something on his first try, he became frustrated and less likely to pull it off at all.

Lily panicked. “Ron, stop!” He turned to face her, waiting patiently. “You’re doing it wrong,” Lily said, deciding to help him before he could cause some real damage. “You’re not swishing long enough, and your flick is too fast. And also, you’re not saying it correctly. You’re putting too much emphasis on the Wing and not enough on the O. On that matter, it’s not Wing-ardium, it’s Wing-gardium.”

“Well, why don’t you do it, if you’re so clever?” Ron lost his temper, setting his wand down, staring at Lily expectedly. “Go on, go on.”

Lily sighed, picking up her wand. She should have expected this response, she had used too harsh of a tone. She had been too hasty, worried he’d really hurt someone with the way he had been waving his wand around. “ _Wingardium Leviosa_ ,” she said, swishing and flicking at her feather. The feather rose quickly, rising four feet in the air. Lily gave it another flick, sending it further up. It was a lesser result than she had managed in private, but she was feeling out of it today.

“Oh, see here, Miss Potter has done it!” Flitwick called from the front, absolutely giddy. Ron looked absolutely livid. Hermione huffed, picking up her own wand, determined not to be outdone.

By the end of the class, Ron had been the only student to not successfully cast the spell. He had absolutely refused to listen to Lily’s advice, and she had given up near the end. She had considered doing it for him in secret, but even if Flitwick didn’t notice she was sure Ron would, and didn’t think that’d win her any points. He had earned them both an essay due the next class meeting. Flitwick had been extremely disappointed that Lily hadn’t helped Ron very well (even Neville had managed it well before the bell rang with Hermione’s help), and had assigned them a little extra on top, much to both their dismays.

Lily was packing up her things, while Ron ran to catch up to Neville, who had gotten up before him. He had looked angrier than Lily had ever seen him before, and she couldn’t help but feel that it was her fault. She should have kept trying to help Ron instead of showing off. Hermione had been the first one out of the room, determined to go practice, disappointed that she hadn’t gotten her feather as high as Lily’s. Lily didn’t know why that upset her so much. Lily couldn’t match Hermione’s Transfiguration skills even closely, only having average marks in the class. Charms came much more naturally to her.

Lily followed behind Ron and Neville, dragging her feet. She was hoping Neville would splinter off, wanting to talk to him. She needed _some_ amount of human contact, and Neville seemed the only one likely to give her any. Unfortunately, the two boys were often inseparable. They had really struck it up on the Hogwarts Express. Ron talked to all sorts of people, but Neville mostly talked just to Ron.

“It’s no wonder nobody can stand her,” she heard Ron say, “she’s a nightmare, honestly.”

Lily perked up, not believing what she was hearing. She really, _really_ hoped they weren’t talking about who she thought they were talking about. Surely Neville wouldn’t at least.

“Lily’s not all that bad,” Neville said, not looking back. Lily’s heart sank further. She had been right after all.

“Not all that bad? Are you serious? Please, it’s no wonder she hasn’t got any friends.”

Lily froze in the hallway, the rest of the first years streaming around her. _Hagrid was wrong,_ she thought, feeling tears coming to her eyes. She ran for it, pushing past Ron before he could see her.

“Lily!” She heard Neville call, but she was around the corner before he could say anymore. Lily ran up the staircase, pushing past Professor McGonagall, who was coming down.

“Potter!” She called sharply. Lily continued running, not wanting the day to get any worse. Even if McGonagall chose to take pity on her, she’d definitely lay into Ron, and that would only make things worse in the long run.

Lily made a sharp turn as she reached the fourth floor, accidentally knocking into Hermione, who was making her way upstairs. Hermione’s books spilled across the floor, and she quickly bent down to retrieve them, only pausing once she turned around, seeing who had run into her.

“Lily?” she called.

Lily didn’t stop, the tears were openly flowing now. _Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ she thought, pushing her way into the fourth-floor bathroom. She didn’t want to risk the common room, didn’t want anybody seeing.

Lily ran into a stall, slamming the door behind her. Lily pulled at her hair, screaming at herself in her head. After a minute (although it felt like an eternity), she heard the bathroom door open, and she quickly tried to stifle her sobs.

“Lily?” she heard Hermione call. “Are you in here?”

Lily chose not to answer. Hermione knocked on her stall door.

“Lily?” She asked again.

“Go away,” Lily managed, tears coming out once again.

Hermione hesitated. “Lily, what’s wrong?”

“What do you care?” Lily said, voice full of hurt. “Just leave me alone.”

Hermione lingered for a moment, but then left. Lily thought she heard the girl sniffing as the door closed, her own feelings hurt.

Lily stayed in the bathroom for hours, lucky that there were no afternoon classes. She did miss Herbology, but seeing as how Professor Sprout never took roll (not even on the first day), she didn’t think her absence would be noticed. The Hufflepuffs would be happy she wasn’t lingering near them, and the Gryffindors never noticed her presence anyway. At one point, Lavender had come in to try and get her out, but she had left once Parvati called for her from the entrance. Lily had been briefly thankful, but then hurt again once she had given up too quickly.

Once Lily had finally run out of tears, she ran her sleeve over her eyes. They felt _very_ dry, and it stung when she held them open for too long. Lily’s stomach growled, and she suddenly realized that she was very hungry.

_The feast must be over soon,_ Lily thought. She realized she hadn’t eaten at all today. She had been too busy feeling sorry for herself.

Lily got up, determined to move on. She wouldn’t let what Ron said get in her way. She decided she was going to apologize to Hermione after all. She’d even wake _her_ up in the morning and keep bothering _her_ until they were friends again. And if Neville wanted to sit next to there, then by golly, she was going to let him. She’d even ask him to as soon as he got back from the feast. She didn’t think he’d be able to figure out that she suddenly wanted him to without being told.

Lily washed her face at the sink, and then fixed her tie. She had completely undone it in her anguish. She could smell something terrible coming from outside, and she was hoping Peeves wasn’t waiting right out the door with a box of dung bombs. That would have just made this day _so_ much better. She was tucking her shirt in as she left the bathroom, then froze.

There was a troll in the hallway, staring at her. It blinked a few times, slowly. It was huge and grossly blue, dragging a large club behind it. Lily tried standing very still. She remembered that trolls are supposed to be very stupid, and she hoped it would think she was a statue.

The troll roared, raising its club, and Lily screamed. She leapt to the side just as the its club struck where she had been standing. She sprinted past the troll towards the staircase. She ran full force into Ron as she turned the corner, and they both screamed, Ron falling down, clutching at his chest and the railing.

“Lily!” Hermione cried, throwing her arms around the red-haired girl. Lily panicked, not sure if she should return the hug or continue running from the troll. This was the first hug she had ever gotten, and it was in very strange circumstances.

“Hemione! Troll!” That was all she could manage.

Hermione paled, quickly taking her arms off, realizing that the troll was running down the hallway towards them. The thunderous footsteps were getting _very_ close.

“Run!” shouted Ron, pushing the two girls to go down the stairs. He had taken the chance to peek around the corner, and had returned positively terrified. All three of them ran down the stairs, taking a right turn on the third floor. They heard a loud crashing coming from the staircases behind them, but they didn’t stop to turn around, lest the troll land on top of them.

“In here!” Ron tried to open a door in a hurry, but it wouldn’t budge, clearly locked. Lily had a brief warning flash through her brain, but she decided to ignore it. The troll was the more pressing issue.

“Move over,” Hermione said, shoving Ron to the side. “ _Alohomora!_ ” The lock clicked, and Hermione shoved it open, Lily making a mental note to ask Fred and George to teach her that charm. Ron shoved Lily in first, then followed, closing the door behind them. Lily and Ron pressed their ears to the door, listening for the troll. Neither seemed to hear anything, and they smiled at each other in relief.

“I’m sorry, Ron,” Lily said, tears coming to her eyes now that the danger had passed. “I promise I’ll keep Weasley away from Scabbers, even if he doesn’t even like eating rats.”

Ron blushed. “I’m sorry, too. I never should have said what I did.”

“Hermione,” Lily said, turning. She didn’t get to finish that thought, as she once again froze. Hermione, too, was frozen, and Ron had started to whine. Lily was certain she would have peed (which wasn’t very Gryffindor) if she hadn’t just spent the whole day in the bathroom.

There was a dog in the room with them, large enough to take up most of the available space (and it wasn’t a small room, either). It had three heads, all of which were currently locked onto the intruders. Coincidentally, there were three intruders, one for each head. When the dog started growling, all three of the children started screaming. Ron threw the door open again, and they all ran out. Hermione collapsed against the opposite wall and Ron threw the door closed again before the dog could come after them (not that it would have fit, but nobody was going to argue with the Weasley). They could hear barking on the other side of it, and together they all ran down the corridor, Hermione’s face still frozen in a sort of silent scream.

They reached the staircase, and started to run up it, troll completely forgotten. When they reached the fourth floor, they stopped. The banister was broken, and some of the steps were shattered. They looked down, spotting the troll laying dead on the bottom floor, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick standing over it. Quirrell was collapsed on the ground. Snape was walking away, limping, although Lily wouldn’t have been able to tell you why.

The three leaned back over the busted railing before they could be spotted, and started running up the steps.

“What did I _miss?”_ Lily asked, out of breath as they reached the seventh floor.

“Professor Quirrell busted in during the feast,” Ron answered, “he completely lost it, screaming about there being a troll. Clearly that man needs to get his eyes checked. _Troll in the dungeons._ ” Ron scoffed.

“We came looking for you,” Hermione said as they slowed down, trying to catch her own breath. “I was worried you didn’t know about the troll, and Ron agreed to help.”

“More like she dragged me into it,” Ron said, scratching at his nose. Hermione sniffed.

“Why did you come for me?” Lily was torn between being incredibly happy or slipping back into sadness.

“Because you’re my friend, Lily!” Hermione said as if it was obvious. “I know we’ve been going through a bit of a rough patch lately, but I didn’t want the troll _killing_ you.”

Ron scratched at his nose again. “I’ve been meaning to apologize anyway, you know? Hermione has been bossing me around for a month now to just end it. I was going to, in charms, I even asked Flitwick to pair me with you before class! But it just, uh, never came up, is all.”

“I’m sorry, Lily, I haven’t been a very good friend lately.” Hermione bit her lip, but continued. “I wasn’t trying to ignore you, I promise. I was just giving you some space. I figured you’d forgive me when you were ready to, but when I saw you crying earlier, I thought I had screwed up! It was my idea to have Ron partner up with you, I was waiting on the fourth floor for you both to come up together. I didn’t know what to say to you in the bathroom, I thought I had ruined things forever.” Hermione sniffed, rubbing at her own eyes.

Lily was crying again, relieved. Hermione hugged her tight, and she returned this one. “I thought you all hated me!” she said. Ron looked aghast.

“No, never! What gave you that impression?” Hermione glared at him over Lily’s shoulder, and he gulped. “Well, okay, I guess _I_ did. But I didn’t mean any of it! Honestly, Lily, I give Neville a hard time, too!”

Lily wasn’t quite sure if she believed him fully, but she was just happy they didn’t actually hate her. He had given her a _little_ too hard of a time. But she could forgive him, since he forgave her. She certainly hadn’t made things any easier on him. She sniffed again, finally letting go of Hermione.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been sitting with you, Hermione.” Lily wasn’t quite done with the apology train yet, it seemed. She just kept thinking of more things to be sorry for.

“And I’m sorry I stopped saving your spot. You were _supposed_ to sit next to Ron so he could apologize, but I didn’t even think that you’d take it the wrong way.”

“And I’m sorry about your birthday cake,” Lily said, leaving Hermione confused. “I tried bringing it to you, but then Peeves threw a dung bomb in it and I just couldn’t bring myself to say anything to you after I had promised, and then I thought you were mad because you thought I had forgotten, and I just couldn’t bring myself to say sorry before now.” Lily could feel tears coming again.

Now it was Hermione’s turn to cry, and she threw herself around Lily again, smiling widely.

“I hope you lot don’t expect me to join in,” Ron said.

“No, Ronald, I’d never expect _you_ to cry,” Hermione said, leaving the hug and quickly wiping her tears away. “You just sit around moping, according to Neville.”

“He promised he wouldn’t tell anyone!” Ron said, holding his hand over his heart in fake outrage.

“Where is Neville?” Lily asked with another sniff, wiping her eyes.

“We sent him on ahead,” Ron said. “You know, just in case you had gone back?”

They reached the Fat Lady’s portrait, pausing before heading inside to let Lily and Hermione pull themselves back together.

“Pig snout,” Hermione said. The portrait opened up, Ron climbing in first. Hermione went second, turned around, and offered Lily her hand. Lily took it, and they walked into the common room together.


	10. Gryffindor vs Slytherin

Now that November had begun, Lily only had one thing to be worried about: Quidditch. She liked flying well enough, but the bludgers absolutely terrified her. Fred and George promised to keep them away from her in an actual game, but during practice they smacked them at her all the time. Wood had threatened to take them off the team after they had knocked Lily off her broom, but they had continued doing it anyway. They claimed it was good practice for the future. Lily was pretty sure they just thought it was funny.

Even outside of practice, Quidditch was making Lily miserable. The Slytherins had taken to trying to trip Lily as she went down the stairs, calling her a troll as they did so. She might have thought it funny, if it hadn’t been happening to her. One time, they had all gotten up before Lily and Hermione (and they still didn’t know how they had managed that) and moved all the breakfast items off the Gryffindor table so that there was nothing to eat. That one had gotten them points removed by McGonagall, and the table refilled shortly afterwards anyway. Every time Malfoy saw Lily, he reminded her of all the ways she could die in the next match.

“You’ll be lucky if you don’t get cursed off your broom, Potter,” he said after Potions one day. That was one of his weaker attempts, but it grated on Lily anyway.

“Don’t mind him,” Ron said, trying to comfort her. “He’s just upset that his daddy couldn’t buy his way onto their team.”

“Are wands allowed in Quidditch?” Lily asked, chewing her lip. That hadn’t come up during her many training sessions. Lily was quite a bit taller than she had been before, and was starting to build a decent amount of muscle. McGonagall had to help her order new robes, she was starting to fill in the current ones a little too much.

“Well, you’re allowed to carry one,” Ron said, scratching his neck. “But if you pulled it during the match there’s big penalties.”

“Would that stop Slytherin from trying?”

“Probably not. The troll was smarter than Marcus Flint. Smelled better, too.” Ron gagged, thinking about the repulsive smell of the troll. It had been ingrained in all of their nostrils.

“Well, thanks, Ron. That really helps.” Lily pulled at her tie again. She could hear the distant sound of Professor McGonagall sniffing in her head, which made her feel slightly better. The professor had stopped nagging Lily quite as often now that she was on the Quidditch team, although she still couldn’t get away with taking it too far. She had learned that the hard way when she tried to enter class one day having forgotten her tie. That had been back when Hermione wasn’t talking to her, so she had never even noticed until she went to pull on it while McGonagall was giving her a lecture.

“You’ll be fine, Lily,” Hermione interjected. “Dumbledore would never let somebody curse you.”

“Dumbledore won’t be watching the game, Hermione,” Lily pointed out. The other girl frowned, now sure what to do now.

“Just catch the snitch as soon as the match starts,” Ron suggested. “Then you have nothing to worry about. It’d be a bit boring, granted, but at least you wouldn’t die.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Yes, Ron, excellent idea. Catching the snitch is just so _easy_.” Lily had only gotten to play with an actual snitch once, and that was during Oliver’s tutorial on what each ball did. And even then, she hadn’t been allowed to actually catch it. It had been getting dark, and Oliver didn’t want to risk losing it. In total, she only had ten minutes worth of play time with the one object she was supposed to focus on.

Ron’s ears turned red. “Well, we could always deal with Flint the same way we dealt with the troll.”

“You mean by running away and hoping he falls off the stairs?” Hermione asked.

“When you put it that way, we weren’t very Gryffindor-like, were we?”

“I think you both should have gotten points for coming to rescue me. That was pretty brave.” Lily tried to compliment everyone as often as she could now. It seemed to always put them in a better mood.

“Well, tell that to McGonagall, then.” Ron stuffed his hands in his pockets. McGonagall had caught him earlier today, so his shirt was currently tucked in. She had also pointedly ignored Lily’s tie, which Ron had not failed to notice.

“Ron, I’m pretty sure if Lily did that we’d get points taken away.”

“Dumbledore, then. He looks like he’d appreciate a good adventure.”

“Speaking of the adventure,” Lily said, “I wonder what that dog was doing in there?” They hadn’t talked much about the night. Ron and Hermione had been too busy listening to Lily apologize hundreds of time, and then after that they had all been worrying about the Quidditch match. Neville hadn’t wanted to talk about it at all, he found the double prospects of a troll and a monstrous canine to be too much, and was very thankful he had gone back to the dorm to wait.

“Well, it was the forbidden corridor, wasn’t it? Maybe he just sorta wandered in, like the troll did, and the teachers trapped him in there.”

“And then just locked the door, hoping nobody would go in?” Lily wasn’t anywhere near convinced by Ron’s explanation.

“They _did_ tell everybody not to go there unless they wanted to die. Besides, how would it even get out of there? It’s too big to get through the door.” Ron chose to ignore the fact that he had slammed the door behind them to keep it from getting out.

“Then how did it get in, Ron?”

“That, Lily, is an excellent question.” Ron didn’t _answer_ the question, but Lily had to agree that it was quite good.

“I think you’re both ignoring the trap door,” Hermione said.

“Trap door?” The two said in unison, equally confused.

“Yes, the trap door. It was standing on one.” Hermione looked at the two in disbelief.

“Well, there’s the problem,” Ron said. “I wasn’t looking at the floor, I was staring at the heads! In case you didn’t notice, Hermione, there were _three_ of them!” Lily nodded in agreement.

Hermione sniffed. “ _Clearly,_ the dog is guarding something. It didn’t just wander in, it was _put_ there. The question is what is it guarding, not why is it there.”

“Those are the same question,” Lily said, being ignored by the two.

“Okay, then, Hermione, what _is_ it guarding?” Ron asked, rolling his eyes.

“No, really, the guarding _is_ why it’s there, so the what is also the why.”

“How should I know?” Hermione replied, continuing to not hear Lily. “Besides, it doesn’t matter right now. None of it does if Lily doesn’t survive her Quidditch match.”

Lily’s smiled faded. She had been quite distracted by all the adventure talk, but now she was confronted by cold, hard reality.

“You’ll have to figure that one out on your own, I’m afraid,” Ron said, pointing towards Neville. “Neville’s back from the hospital wing. I’ll catch up with you two later.” Ron trotted off to join the plump boy, who had left in the middle of the previous class with a nosebleed.

“How are we supposed to figure it out on our own?” Hermione asked. “Neither of us know anything about Quidditch!”

“Hey, now, I know a bit. I just spent the past two months constantly playing it.” Lily pulled at her tie, still thinking over her chances of survival. “Do you think they’d let me go free if I broke my arm? I could always throw myself off the staircase before the game, might even be able to blame it on the Slytherins.”

Hermine looked at Lily as if that was the worst idea she had ever heard, and Lily quickly dropped it.

“You’re right, Hermione. I don’t think that’d help the troll comments, anyway.”

Unfortunately, neither had come up with any good ideas before Saturday rolled around. The best anybody had come up with was Neville, who simply suggested refusing to play. This was, of course, still a terrible idea, as Lily didn’t want to serve detentions for the rest of the year. Besides, it was far too late to find a replacement seeker, which also put a damper on Lily’s ideas of injuring herself. She figured letting Gryffindor down would be more painful than actually being in pain. No, there was nothing to be done about it, other than gritting her teeth and playing the game.

Lily woke up early the next morning. Her nerves had been shot all night, and she had a very difficult time sleeping. The sun had yet to rise, and even Hermione was still sleeping. She got up, heading for the showers. She was sitting in front of the fireplace an hour later, when Hermione found her.

“Well, today’s the day,” Hermione said, taking the armchair next to Lily.

“Yeah, the day I die,” Lily said, eyes unmoving. She figured she was in the acceptance phase now, ignoring the fact that she was still terrified.

“Please, Lily. We read _Quidditch Through the Ages_ together, nobody has died in hundreds of years.” Hermione reached for her bag, intending to get the book out for exact quotes, before realizing that she had left it upstairs. She came back up blushing, but Lily didn’t notice. She was still staring at the fire.

“The fact that it happened at all is what scares me, Hermione.”

“Madame Hooch will make sure nothing happens, Lily!”

“Did you forget that Neville fell off his broom, while she just stood there in shock?”

Hermione blushed. “Err, yes, I suppose I did. But he’s fine now, Lily!”

“That’s not very reassuring, Hermione. But thanks for trying. There’s really nothing to be done about it, at this point. All that’s left is to get it over with.”

Lily stood, intending on heading to breakfast. She didn’t have much of an appetite, but she figured she’d enjoy her last meal anyway. She thought she’d go on a stroll by the lake, afterwards. She didn’t think she could take running into any Slytherins right now, and the cold weather was likely to keep them inside until the game started.

Hermione came to have breakfast with Lily, for which she was very grateful. Now that they were friends once more, she never wanted to eat alone ever again.

Lily finished eating a plate of waffles, and Hermione, without asking, piled a few more onto Lily’s plate.

“Bless you, Hermione,” Lily said, pouring syrup. “I could marry you.”

Hermione laughed. “I think you’d get a little sick of me.” Hermione watched Lily shovel the waffles down her throat, utterly horrified. “I think I might be a little sick, myself. I forgot how, err, _efficiently_ you eat.”

“Efficiently is a good word for it,” Ron said, sitting down next to Lily. Neville took the seat across from him, next to Hermione. “I think I’ll tell mum that next time she complains. ‘I’m not a pig, mum, I’m just _efficient.’_ ” Ron loaded his plate with an equal amount of waffles as had been on Lily’s. Lily’s plate was pleasantly graced by another gift from Hermione, this time a load of eggs. Lily looked at the other girl fondly, wondering how she had ever managed to get through the last month without her.

“I’m sure that’ll go over well,” Lily said, lifting her fork once again, this time covered in egg. Hermione tossed a couple strips of bacon onto the plate, for which she was very grateful.

“Speaking of which,” Ron started between bites, “Why don’t you all come to my place over the summer?”

Neville and Lily looked at each other in shock, having never been invited to somebody’s home before.

“What?” Ron asked, looking around, completely confused.

“Would Gran let us go?” Lily asked.

“Well, she certainly wouldn’t keep you, would she? Dumbledore is trying to make sure that you live where you want to. Me, though, it’d be a miracle.” Neville looked saddened.

“Well,” Hermione said, “What if Lily asked for both of you to go? Would she really say one of you can’t, but the other can?”

Lily and Neville looked at each other. Neither of them knew what the answer to that question would be, but it seemed worth trying.

“Well, now that that’s settled,” Ron said, chewing some toast, “What about you, then Hermione?”

“Me?” Hermione sputtered, wearing the same expression that Lily and Neville had been just a moment before. She regained her composure before speaking again. “Well, I don’t know, to be honest. I may have used up all my favors asking to stay here for Christmas.”

Everybody looked at Hermione with the same question, but Lily was the one to ask it: “Why are you staying here for Christmas?”

Hermione looked shocked. “Well, I thought you would be for sure! I figured you could use some company.”

Lily shook her head. “Gran’s already invited me back, I got a letter from her just last week.” Hermione suddenly looked very miserable.

“Actually,” Neville said, clearing his throat. “I have something I need to ask you about that, Lily. But it can wait until after the game, it’s not that important.”

Lily finished her latest plate, and realized Hermione hadn’t put anymore on it. “How’d you know I was done?” Lily put her fork down, patting her stomach.

“Because you were talking a lot more,” she said, humming.

“Well, I’m not done yet,” Ron said.

“We know,” everyone else said in unison.

At a quarter before eleven, Lily was heading to the stands with the gang, feeling worse for wear. She had somehow managed to forget about the Quidditch match during breakfast, but now it was all coming back to her. Most of the students had already taken seats at the Quidditch stadium, although a fair amount were still making their way down. Lily wished she could be in the library right now, completely ignoring the presence of a magical flying sport.

“Good luck,” Hermione said, quickly throwing herself around Lily before she ran off with Neville and Ron to find seats. Lily took a gulp, then entered the changing room, broom in hand.

Fifteen minutes later, she was changed, and sitting on the bench between Fred and George, who were giving her helpful pointers, such as “Don’t get hit by the bludgers,” and “Find the snitch as quickly as you can, but make sure we have enough points to win before you do so.” Lily didn’t know how she was supposed to keep track of all this, she hadn’t needed to do so during the practices.

Oliver Wood came out last, clearing his throat. “Okay, men,” he started.

“And women,” said Angelina, playing chaser.

“And women,” Oliver agreed. “This is it.”

“The big one,” said Fred.

“The one we’ve all been waiting for,” said George.

“We know Oliver’s speech by heart,” Fred explained to Lily. “We were on the team last year. Always the same, that one.”

“Shut up, you two,” Oliver said. “This is the best team Gryffindor’s had in years, I know we’re going to win. We’ll take the whole cup, matter of fact. But it all starts with _this game_.” Wood looked determined.

“Okay, that part was new,” George said.

“Right,” Oliver said. “It’s time. Let’s go, team.” Oliver picked up his broom, heading out of the room. The rest of the team followed, Lily trailing behind. She wasn’t feeling very motivated. She slung her Nimbus over her shoulder (provided by McGonagall, of course). The Gryffindors took the field, standing opposite the Slytherins, Madame Hooch standing between. Oliver and Marcus Flint strode forward, shaking hands. Flint looked like he was trying to break Oliver’s hand, but Oliver didn’t flinch. He just smiled.

After both the captains had returned to their teams, they all mounted their brooms. Lily took a second longer than everybody else, not quite sure what she should being. She could distantly hear the sound of talking, could even see Madame Hooch’s mouth moving, but for the life of her, she couldn’t make out any of the words. Madame Hooch blew her whistle, and Lily kicked off from the ground as hard as she could.

“And they’re off,” Lee Jordan said from the commentator’s booth. Lily tuned him out immediately. Oliver kept impressing upon her the importance of paying attention, and she didn’t think she could while also listening to somebody describing the game.

Lily looked up, then immediately swerved to avoid a bludger.

“Sorry, Lilly, habit!” George called as he sped past her, chasing the bludger. Lily could see Fred laughing a ways away, smacking at another bludger. That one connected with a Slytherin chaser, but they managed to keep their seat.

Lily was thankful she had remembered the friction charm Fred and George had taught her, that definitely would have knocked her off. She flew towards the Gryffindor goal posts, pulling up, searching for the snitch. Marcus Flint tried to ram her at one point, earning Gryffindor a penalty shot. Angelina took it, sailing the Quaffle right past the seeker.

“AND GRYFFINDOR SCORES!” Lee Jordan roared. “That’s 10-0 to Gryffindor!”

Lily refocused herself, trying to zero in on the snitch. They didn’t allow a real snitch during practice (something about them being very expensive to lose), so Wood had taken to flying a few golf balls around the stadium. Lily was pretty sure he didn’t know they _were_ golf balls. She didn’t imagine Oliver had ever even heard of golf, for that matter. In fact, where did he even get-

A bludger sailed past Lily’s ear, bringing her head back into the game.

“AND ANOTHER GOAL FOR GRYFFINDOR!” Jordan shouted. Lily missed the score, tilting to avoid Marcus Flint again.

“Madame Hooch must have missed that one, or we’d surely be seeing another beautiful penalty shot from lovely Angelina,” Jordan said.

“The game, Jordan,” Lily heard McGonagall say.

“Sorry, professor, but you have to admit she looks- AND GRYFFINDOR SCORES AGAIN! 40-10, Gryffindor leads. Another excellent shot by Katie Bell!”

Lily didn’t know how she had missed so many goals, it really hadn’t felt like much time had passed by and-

A bludger smacked into Lily’s back, causing her to dip.  
“Oh, and Potter takes a bludger to the rear, and a rather nice one at that-“

“Mr. Jordan, really now!”

“Sorry, professor. Keep your head out of the clouds, Potter!”

Lily thought that was quite hard to do when she was actually flying. She had only managed to keep her seat because of the charm. She suddenly found herself wondering if the charm was even legal. Surely, using magic to stick yourself in your seat wasn’t allowed, but this wasn’t really that, it just made it harder to-

Lily had spotted the snitch, and took a dive, heading between the Slytherin goal posts.

“AND LILY POTTER HAS FOUND THE SNITCH,” Jordan roared, “GO GO POTTER AND- NOOOOOOOOOO!”

Lily had almost had it, fingers just brushing it, but then Marcus Flint had rammed into her again, actually knocking her off the broom. Thankfully she had only been a few feet off the ground, otherwise it would have hurt a lot more. Instead, it only hurt her feelings.

Lily hopped back onto her broom after a quick stretch, just as Angelina scored another penalty shot, bringing the score to 50-10, Gryffindor leading. Lily had barely been in the air for a few moments before she heard the whistle blowing.

“And Wood calls for a time-out early in the game. We’ll be back in a moment, folks.”

Lily flew over to where the Gryffindors were congregating, dismounting her broom.

“What gives, Oliver?” Fred asked as he pulled up, landing with less grace than he probably could have.

“Yeah, Oliver, we’re creaming them. Why give them a chance to breath?” George said.

“Because, Weasleys, that’s twice in a minute that we’ve almost lost our seeker. Hell, we almost lost her in the first ten seconds because you, George, sent a bludger to her face! What are you two doing out there?”

“What do you want us to do, Oliver, follow her around?” George asked.

“We can’t just run interference for one person, Oliver,” Fred said. “Do you know how many times I’ve kept Alicia on her broom just this game?”

“All I’m asking,” Oliver got in, “Is that you pay a little more attention to our seeker. If we lose her, then the game doesn’t end until Slytherin decides it, now does it?”

“Alright, then, protect Lily.” The twins said as one, nodding.

“I wouldn’t be asking so much of you chasers if it wasn’t Lily’s first game, but I need you all to be a little more alert, got it?”

“Got it,” the three chaser girls said as one.

“And you, Potter,” Oliver said, pointing his finger at her. Lily gulped. “Just keep doing what you’re doing, you almost had it there. If Marcus hadn’t run a foul, the game would have ended. With Fred and George covering you, we’ll be unstoppable. Just don’t take too long. The girls, no matter how good they are, can only last so long without our defense. Now, let’s get back to it, shall we?” Oliver broke the huddle, signaling to Madame Hooch that they were ready. The referee blew her whistle, and both teams rose back into the air. Lily only felt an incredible amount of pressure, it was really no big deal.

“And they’re off!” Jordan said. “Alicia gets ahold of the Quaffle, passes it to Angelina who SHOOTS- and caught by Bletchley, who, despite his appearance, apparently isn’t such a bad keeper after all.”

“Jordan, be objective.”

“I am, professor.”

Lily sped off, Fred and George not too far behind. Marcus Flint gave them a rude gesture as they flew by, apparently dissatisfied that he could no longer mess with Lily. Lily, for what it was worth, felt much better about her chances of survival.

“And Slytherin scores, yippee. 50-20, Gryffindor.”

“Try to a show a little enthusiasm, Mr. Jordan.”

“That’s what the ‘yippee’ was for, professor.”

Lily turned, heading in the other direction, eyes scanning the field. A bludger sailed nearby, but George gave it a solid _thwack_ with his bat, and it soared over near Marcus Flint. They seemed to have a personal grudge against the Slytherin captain, but Lily couldn’t quite blame them for it. She was starting to develop one too, matter of fact.

Gryffindor scored twice more, Slytherin once, bringing the score to 70-30. Lily thought things were going way too well. Fred and George seemed to be getting a bit bored following her around (having taken to swinging at each other with their bats), but the chasers were all playing exceedingly well, and not a single bludger had touched them. Slytherin had made more attempts at the goalposts once the Gryffindor beaters had been given babysitting duty, but Oliver had managed to block most of them.

Lily was debating the legality of her friction charm again when she finally spotted the snitch once more, glinting far above the field. She rose quickly, Fred and George following far less gracefully, their brooms being worse.

“AND POTTER HAS SPOTTED THE SNITCH AGAIN, GO POTTER GO GO!”

The Gryffindor stands suddenly broke into a feverish pitch (“GO GO, GRYFFINDOR, GO GO”), and she distinctly heard her name being chanted. She had a very vivid realization that Quidditch was actually pretty fun and not, in fact, absolutely terrifying. She reached out her arm, fingers brushing the snitch, crowd roaring below.

Then her broom suddenly stopped, and the snitch avoided her hand closing around it. Lily almost flew right off the broom, only managing to stay on due to her dubiously legal charm. She looked down, suddenly very aware of how high up she was. The crowd suddenly stopped cheering.

“What’s Potter doing?” She heard Lee Jordan say. The stands were filled with confused mumblings.

“Oi, Lily,” Fred called from below, circling, “You okay up there?”

Lily opened her mouth to call back, but her Nimbus suddenly gave a jerk. She gripped tightly onto it, deathly afraid, and then it bucked again. In fact, it was now viciously shaking.

“Professor,” Lee Jordan said, “I think something is wrong.”

Lily could hear screaming from the stands, as the broom’s shaking suddenly became a lot more violent. Or maybe the screaming was coming from herself. If that was the case, she sincerely hoped nobody else could hear it.

Fred and George stopped circling, trying to close in on Lily’s broom. She vaguely heard the sounds of Slytherin scoring a couple of goals while everybody was distracted, Lee Jordan barely acknowledging it.

“Oi, Lily,” George said, pulling as close as he could. They were all terrified of the broom accidentally smacking into them, Lily included. “I’ll pull you on my broom, just hop off.”

Lily clung tighter to her broom, scared to even make the attempt. She tried to speak, but the shaking caused her to bite down hard on her tongue. She could suddenly taste a lot of blood. She tried shaking her head instead, unsure if George would get the memo.

The shaking intensified, and Lily slipped. She caught the broom by her hands, but those were now the only things holding her up. She looked down on instinct, and immediately shut her eyes, that having been a huge mistake. The broom was now jerking in every direction, desperately trying to fling her off. If she wasn’t so scared, she may have wondered what she had done to offend it so.

The crowd below was _definitely_ screaming now. Lily had a clear image in her mind of her ghost telling Hermione “I told you so.” She never wished to be wrong before, but she certainly was now.

“Don’t worry, Lily, we’ll catch you,” Fred shouted from below. They had gone lower once she slipped, seeing that as the best option, but that wasn’t very comforting.

The broom suddenly stopped shaking. The stadium below breathed a sigh of relief, alongside Lily, who realized she was covered in a cold sweat. Lily started pulling herself back up, the twins laughing below, having been worried for nothing.

Then a bludger smacked right into the side of Lily’s head. She remembered thinking “Oh,” as she fell, straight between the outstretched arms of the twins, then a thousand voices screaming from below, followed immediately by a deep darkness.


	11. Severus Problems

Lily woke up in the hospital wing. Her head was wrapped, and both legs were in casts. Her head was throbbing, but there didn’t seem to be any pain from her presumably broken legs aside from feeling very sore. She was also _very_ thirsty. All in all, not too bad, considering the height she had fallen from.

“Hermione,” she called out, voice raspy. She heard noise nearby, but her head hurt too much to look for it. She still wasn’t fully convinced she was actually alive.

“Oh, good, you’re up,” Madame Pomfrey said, wiping Lily’s face with a damp cloth. She spoke from outside Lily’s field of vision, causing her to jump. “How are you feeling?”

“Head. Hurts.” Lily’s throat hurt too, and her legs as well, but that was all she could manage right now. She felt it was enough to get the point across.

“Well, I’d think so, that bludger cracked your skull open, it did. Nothing I can’t heal, of course, but head injuries are always tricky. Another day, and I would have sent you to St. Mungo’s.” Madame Pomfrey had finally come into view, shaking her head in disappointment. Lily hope the old nurse wasn’t trying to blame _her_ , she hadn’t wanted to play in the first place.

“Day?” Lily tried to furrow her brow, unsure what the headwrap was actually covering. She had a sudden flash of her scar being uncovered, but she came back to her sense. She could feel her hair pressed tightly to her forehead.

“Yes, child, you’ve been here for three already.” Madame Pomfrey shook her head again, definitely blaming Lily for her current situation.

“ _Three. Days?”_ Lily repeated. At least she knew why she was so thirsty, although the appetite hadn’t quite caught up yet. She hoped that would come back soon. She couldn’t bear it if her brain was messed up so badly that she’d never be able to eat again.

“Three days,” Madame Pomfrey repeated, pulling the curtains around them. “I’ll be taking your casts off now, the bones should be all healed up. You’re lucky Professor Snape caught you with a cushioning charm, you could have been killed.” Lily suddenly felt a lot more thankful for the Potions teacher. She briefly considered telling him so, but thought that may have gotten a few points deducted. Not from Lily, of course, but he would have been far more critical of her fellow Gryffindors.

“Don’t. Want. Quidditch.” Lily had meant to say, “I don’t want to play Quidditch anymore,” but the pounding in her head was only getting worse with all this new information. She hoped her skull wasn’t still cracked open, although she didn’t know what else would be causing this much pain.

“Well, who can blame you,” Pomfrey said, understanding. “I don’t know why they let any students play, honestly. I’ve had some far worse off than you. Thankfully, Dumbledore had the sense to revoke your special privilege, so your season is over now.”

Lily let out a sigh of relief. This was the best news she had heard since Hermione said she didn’t hate her. She just hoped getting mangled meant she wouldn’t have detention with McGonagall. She would prefer the constant danger to continuing to disappoint their head of house. At the very least, Lily knew she’d have to be more careful about maintaining her uniform. McGonagall wasn’t likely to be as lax now that she was no longer the star of the Quidditch team.

Pomfrey waved her wand, and Lily’s casts disappeared. They suddenly felt a lot less sore now that they weren’t so cramped. Lily was relieved to see that they looked perfectly normal. She had been scared to see bone poking out.

“Well, go on, give your toes a wiggle, got to make sure everything still works.”

Lily wiggled her toes, her joints popping loudly. Both ladies smiled in relief. Keeping her tie on would have been a pale comparison to not being able to walk.

“Now, I’ll have to keep you one more night, but assuming your headache is gone in the morning, it’ll be back to classes with you.” Lily frowned, Madame Pomfrey tutting. “Yes, back to classes. You’ve already missed a couple days. Professor Snape was going to bring you a special draught he made if you didn’t get better soon.”

“Snape?” Lily asked. Not only did the man save her life, but he was apparently trying to make sure she healed properly. She might have been suspicious, if she wasn’t so grateful.

“Yes, dear, our Potions master? He makes almost all our medicines, it’s his job. Now, drink this, and then it’s off to sleep.” Madame Pomfrey didn’t waste any time. Before Lily had even seen her holding a potion, she was suddenly drinking it.

Lily didn’t think she could sleep anymore, but once the rancid concoction Madame Pomfrey pushed to her lips had been swallowed, she found herself drifting off.

Lily woke up, presumably, the next day. She couldn’t remember what she had been dreaming about, although it had most definitely been a nightmare. She was still covered in cold sweat. The sun was just beginning to rise, and her headache was gone. Madame Pomfrey strode up very quickly. Lily was pretty sure she had been there watching her for a while. She must have been making noise in her terror.

“Ah, good, I was just about to wake you. Headache gone, is it?” With the test completed, her results were in: the headache was gone.

Lily nodded, more to test it than anything else.

“Good, good. Let’s get those bandages off, then. You can use the shower in the back, then you’re out of here.”

Lily covered her scar as Madame Pomfrey undid the wrappings. The older woman frowned while she did so, but didn’t say anything. When the bandages were fully off, Madame Pomfrey rolled Lily’s head around to get a good look at it. She knocked on to test its sturdiness. Lily just felt silly.

Thirty minutes later, Lily was showered, dressing in school robes that Madame Pomfrey had set aside for her. She left the tie loose, hoping McGonagall would cut her a little slack on account of the traumatic brain injury she had just suffered. She wasn’t very confident, but she figured it was worth a shot. Madame Pomfrey had already cleared her to leave, and was nowhere to be found. Lily exited the hospital wing, planning on grabbing some breakfast. Her appetite had come back with a vengeance the instant the hot water hit her body in the shower.

“Lily!” Hermione hopped up from the ground where she had been sitting, books spread around on the floor. It looked like the girl had been in the middle of some very important research.

Lily froze, smiling. “Hermione! Were you waiting for me?” Hermione threw herself around Lily.

“Of course,” she said, hugging Lily tightly. Lily returned the hug, equally glad. She hadn’t expected to run into anybody until Potions. “I’ve been out here every day, Madame Pomfrey wouldn’t let me in to see you.”

“I’d hope not, I’m sure I looked awful.”

“You really did, we all thought for sure you had died. McGonagall wouldn’t tell us anything after it happened, she only mentioned it was bad.” Lily had a sudden, very vivid image of her body laying on the ground, bent at all sort of weird angles.

“What happened?” Lily rubbed the side of her head, hoping she wasn’t about to develop another habit. The tie thing already got her in enough trouble.

“Marcus Flint happened.” Hermione crossed her arms, pursing her lips. “He took a bat from one of the beaters and hit a bludger towards you. Professor Snape was livid, he revoked his captain badge and deducted a hundred points.”

“ _A hundred points?”_ Lily repeated, rubbing her ears to make sure she had heard correctly. That appreciation for the Slytherin Head of House was suddenly growing a lot more.

Hermione smiled. “A hundred points. Slytherin is out of the running for the house cup, although they’ve run away with the Quidditch cup.”

“Run away with it? How badly did we lose?”

“The final score was 480-120,” Hermione said with a grimace.

Lily’s mouth fell open. “How? We were ahead when I got hit!”

“Actually, Lily, you weren’t. The team was completely focused on your situation, and Slytherin scored almost ten times while they were distracted. And then after that, we had to play two players down.”

“Two players down? Who else got hurt?”

“Nobody. Marcus got kicked off the team midgame, knocking them down one, but then Fred and George went after him for what he did, and the professors had to take them off the field.”

“Oh, no!” Lily said, pulling at her tie. “They didn’t have to do that for me, how are we supposed to play without our beaters?”

“They weren’t removed permanently, just taken out of the game. They’ll be back next time.”

“But I won’t, will I?” Lily suddenly recalled what Madame Pomfrey had said about her season being over.

“No. Professor Dumbledore was more upset than anybody else. He hadn’t watched the game, or he could have saved you much earlier, but he said enough was enough and revoked your exemption.”

Lily frowned, finding herself disappointed. “Who’s the replacement seeker going to be?”

“A second year, Cormac McLaggen. He was the only one willing to take the position. They’ve already practiced, Fred and George say he’s dreadful.”

“It’s a shame, really. Aside from nearly dying, I had a pretty good time.”

Hermione bit her lip. “Does that mean you’re going to try out again next year?”

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no,” Lily said, laughing. “So, about the house points? Who’s in the head now?”

“We are,” Hermione said. “Ravenclaw is only 15 behind us, though, and Hufflepuff is 20 behind them, with Slytherin now trailing _them_ by 50.”

Hermione filled Lily in on the classes she had missed as they made their way down to the Great Hall. Lily took a long, satisfied look at the House Points Hourglasses, extremely satisfied by how empty the Slytherin one now was. At least her accident had been good for _something_.

“Thank goodness I was already ahead in my studies,” Lily said, buttering some more toast. She had already polished off a few plates, and was now trying to make up for lost time.

“You’ll still have to catch up on homework.” Hemione took a sip of pumpkin juice, staring at Lily fondly. She hadn’t scolded Lily on her attire once yet. It was surprising, the things a near death experience could do to make everyone friendlier to you. She just hoped it worked on Professor McGonagall too.

“I’m sure I’ll manage. With your help, of course.” Lily downed a glass of pumpkin juice, suddenly very thirsty.

“Well, of course! And we’ll have plenty of time, now that you don’t have practice.” Hermione looked practically giddy at the thought of all her extra study time, now that she didn’t have to watch Lily practice anymore. She didn’t need to before, of course, but she had insisted. Even Wood had given almost immediately, and he had wanted Lily to be a secret weapon.

“Hey,” Lily said, thinking of something. “What happened to my broom?”

“Well, McGonagall confiscated it, now that you’re not allowed one anymore.”

“No, that’s not what I mean, I meant why did it throw me off?”

“Oh,” Hermione said, quickly looking around them. “Well, we have a theory about that, but I think it best you hear it from Ron, he’s the one that thought of it.”

“Did Neville and Ron even worry about me once?”

“Of course they did! They joined me outside the hospital wing as much as they could. They just like sleep a lot more than we do. Besides, they had other duties to attend to.” Hermione sipped her pumpkin juice again, waiting for Lily to finish eating so they could head to Potions.

“I wouldn’t say I hate sleep, Hermione,” Lily said, deciding to take her opening rather than ask about the mystery Hermione had clearly alluded to. Hermione frowned, and Lily panicked, quickly adding, “I just think it’s far easier to get up when you want me to than it is trying to fight.”

“That’s because it is. Are you quite done yet?”

“What, lost your sense of how much food I want to eat?” Hermione had stopped helping her grab more food awhile ago, choosing to focus on one of her various textbooks instead.

“Yes, you’ve eaten far more than you usually do. We’ve been here for hours.”

“Give me a break, Hermione, I haven’t eaten in a few days. Besides, I’m a growing girl.”

Hermione sniffed, but soon enough Lily was finished, and they headed off towards the Dungeons. They still had awhile before class, but cutting it this close was far more than Hermione was used to, and she had been getting antsy.

Ron and Neville joined them ten minutes before class started, having finally eaten. Neville hugged Lily when he saw her up and moving, while Ron had given her a firm handshake. She supposed that was as much affection as she was going to get from the red-headed youngster.

“So, did Hermione tell you yet?” Ron said in a whisper.

“About all the homework? Yeah, I’m going to need a few late nights to catch up, but she offered-“

“No, not the homework, about Snape!”

Lily frowned. “Well, she said he deducted 100 house points, and Madame Pomfrey said he saved me, but-“

“Ron, I told her to wait and her it from you,” Hermione interrupted, clearly getting impatient. “But shouldn’t we wait until after Potions? Snape could get here any second.” Lily wasn’t used to hearing Hermione refer to a professor without the honorific, and had been slightly shocked.

“No, I think it best she hears it first, that way we can all watch for him. Lily, we’re pretty sure he was the one cursing your broom.”

Lily laughed, thinking they were joking. They all remained stone-faced, even Neville, and she realized they weren’t. “You’re serious? But why would Snape save me right after trying to knock me off my broom?”

“Well,” Neville said, speaking up. “We think he didn’t want to actually _kill_ you, he just wanted you out of the game.”

“Then why did he give up? The broom stopped shaking, I only fell because of Flint.”

“He didn’t give up, Lily,” Hermione said, biting her lip. “It stopped shaking because I lit his cloak on fire.”

Lily looked at the girl in shock. Ron and Neville nodded their heads, confirming what Lily had just heard.

“ _You lit him on fire?”_ Lily whispered, bewildered. “ _Why would you do that?”_ Perhaps she had completely misunderstood Hermione after all, if she was capable of something like this. Lily was suddenly rethinking a lot of past conversations, trying to see if Hermione had hinted at this side of her before.

“Well, we saw him whispering,” Ron said, as if that explained it. Lily was only more confused. She had whispered to Hermione _plenty_ during classes, and her buck-toothed pal hadn’t so much as threatened her once. Why would Hermione care if somebody was talking during a sporting event that she didn’t even care for?

“What Ron _means_ to say,” Hermione said, taking over, “Is that Snape was casting a spell on you. He was maintaining eye contact on your broom and muttering an incantation.”

“I don’t know, that just seems like a coincidence.” Lily tugged at her tie. It did make a lot more sense. Lily could see herself lighting somebody on fire if they cursed any of her friends.

“Well, it stopped once Hermione did her thing,” Neville offered.

“But that doesn’t mean anything, she could have easily distracted somebody else. I mean, all the teachers were sitting together, weren’t they?” Lily realized that her newfound appreciation of the professor was the only reason she was trying this hard. A week ago, she would have just went along with whatever explanation Hermione offered, the girl was so rarely wrong.

“Well, McGonagall wasn’t, but pretty much, yeah.” Ron scratched at his nose.

“Then, there you go! I imagine a fellow staff member suddenly igniting would have distracted everybody.”

Ron frowned. “Why are you trying to defend the git anyway?” Lily had just finished justifying that same thing in her head.

“Ron, I’d be dead if he hadn’t gotten that charm off!”

“You’d also be fine if he hadn’t cursed you in the first place! Maybe he just felt bad, maybe he just didn’t mean it to go that far.”

Lily opened her mouth to say more, but Hermione cut her off. “Lily, you haven’t heard the worst part yet. That night, on Halloween, he went into the forbidden corridor.”

“So? We did, too. Maybe it was Ron trying to curse me.”

Hermione shook her head. “No, you see, he was trying to steal whatever the dog was guarding!”

Lily was running out of patience. “How do you know this, anyway?”

“Mate,” Ron said, “Haven’t you noticed he’s been limping around lately?”

“So what? Maybe he pulled something.”

“I heard him, Lily,” Hermione said. “I was sitting outside the Hospital Wing, waiting for you to get out, when Snape came out instead. He was talking to Madame Pomfrey about his leg injury, and I distinctly heard the words ‘How are you supposed to keep an eye on all three heads?’ It’s not as simple as Snape pulling something, he was bit by one of the heads!”

“Okay, fine,” Lily agreed, throwing her hands up. “He was in the corridor, probably right before we were, but so what? What does that have to do with him cursing my broom?”

The three looked at each other, not knowing where to go from here. “Well,” Ron decided, “You have to admit it all looks rather suspicious.”

Lily shook her head. “Look, I’m not buying it. Get back to me when you’ve got something more convincing, I promise I’ll hear you out then. Did you even find out what the dog was guarding?”

“Actually, we’re close,” Ron said smugly. “Neville, here,” he said, patting Neville on the back, “Had tea with Hagrid the other day, and he let slip that whatever Fluffy is guarding is ‘between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel.’” He said the last part with his best attempt at a Hagrid impression, which was quite dreadful.

“You’re having tea with Hagrid now?” Lily asked Neville.

Neville blushed. “Well, he was crying about you being dead and all, and when I tried to cheer him up by saying you were fine, he just sort of dragged me there.”

“Who’s Fluffy?” Lily asked.

“That’s the dog’s name,” Hermione said.

“Okay,” Lily said, “So we know the dog’s name is Fluffy and that there’s a Nicholas Flamel involved, right?”

“Right,” the three said at once, nodding their heads.

“But what does that have to do with my broom, and what does that have to do with Snape?”

“Well, we don’t think the broom thing actually had anything to do with it,” Hermione admitted. “It’s just a notch on Professor Snape’s record. But if we can figure out who Nicholas Flamel is, then we can figure out what he’s after past the dog.”

Lily sighed. “Okay, I’ll go along with it for now, but I have to say that you’re all way off on this one.”

“You only say that because Professor Snape likes you,” Ron said, Neville nodding his head in agreement.  
“Professor Snape doesn’t like me, he never even says a word to me.”

“You’re the first Gryffindor he’s _ever_ given points to!” Ron pointed out.

Lily tried to protest, but Snape chose that moment to open the doors to his classroom. They all shuffled in, Lily taking her spot in the front with Hermione. Parvati had been a lot more friendly lately, now that Lily had given up on sitting next to Lavender. Lavender had the opposite reaction, since Professor Snape was now capable of scolding her again. Lily was sure she’d come around, though. Lavender just loved Weasley too much to be mad at Lily forever. Speaking of Weasley, she hoped her cat had been well taken care of while she was incapacitated. She’d have to go check on him after the next class.

“Open your books to page 234,” Snape barked, striding to the front as half the class was still taking their seats. “Today we will be preparing an Herbicide Potion. Try not to drink it. That would be very… Unfortunate.” He said the last part while he stared at Neville. “Miss Potter,” he said, eyes locking onto Lily. Everybody’s eyes snapped to Snape, wondering what he was going to say. “Welcome back,” he managed at last, sweeping his cloak as he went to the Slytherin side of the room.

“See, I told you,” Ron said while Hermione and Neville nodded.

Lily spent the class period making her and Hermione’s potion. Normally, she’d help Ron and Neville make theirs while Hermione attended to it, but as she didn’t feel like talking to them at the moment, they had swapped roles. Both girls were proficient at their Potion’s work, always receiving full marks. Ron’s and Neville’s marks had been slipping while Lily was avoiding them, Hermione being unable to attend to a double workload, but they were back on the path to passing now.

Malfoy had spent the entire class period joking about who would be replacing Lily as the Gryffindor seeker, his favorite being a three-toed sloth.

“I imagine he’d have an easier time hanging onto the broom, wouldn’t you, Potter?” He had said while the Slytherins laughed around him. Personally, Lily had thought the troll jokes were funnier, but she hadn’t laughed at those either.

After class, Ron and Hermione went on ahead while Neville and Lily finished cleaning their respective tables. Hermione and Lily always took turns cleaning their station (assuming they didn’t just clean it together). Normally Ron and Neville just left theirs as is, but Neville had volunteered to stay, and Ron wasn’t going to say no.

“Err, Lily?” Neville attempted once everyone else had left the classroom. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure, Neville,” Lily said, putting her bag back down. She had just finished cleaning and wanted to catch up to Hermione, but Neville and her very rarely had one-on-one time. “What do you need? If it’s Transfiguration help, you’ll have to ask Hermione, I’m hopeless myself. But I can handle Charms and Potions for you, no problem!”

“Actually it’s, uh, about Christmas. You remember I said I had to talk to you before the Quidditch match?”

“Very vaguely.” In truth, she had been worried that this was what Neville had planned on bringing up, but hoped he had changed his mind.

“Well, err, please don’t be mad at me, but I was wondering if you’d consider staying at Hogwarts for Christmas.” Neville looked down, unable to meet her eyes. If he hadn’t, he definitely would have seen the flash of sadness Lily’s face had gone through.

Lily put on a look of fake outrage, trying to hide her disappointment. “I just woke up from my near-death experience, and the first thing you do is ask me not to come to Christmas?”

Neville gasped, clearly embarrassed. “No, no, no, that’s not what I meant-“

“I know, Neville,” Lily interrupted, trying to force a laugh. “I was just messing with you. I was looking for a reason to stay, anyway. Hermione has been grumbling about how badly she messed up, and I felt bad. Can I ask why, though?”

“Well, see, Gran and I have a sort of, err, a tradition. We go every Christmas. I just don’t know if I’m ready to share it with anyone.” Neville looked down at his feet, clearly uncomfortable. Lily pulled him into a hug. Neville hesitated, then returned it. She didn’t know if the hug was for her benefit, or for Neville’s. At the very least, they both needed one.

Lily broke the hug, walking towards the door. Despite her reassurances, being asked to not come home for Christmas had stung, and she didn’t want Neville to see she was upset. “I’ll see you after Christmas, then. Don’t worry, I’ll write Gran so she doesn’t blame you.”

“Thanks, Lily,” Neville said, running to catch up.

Lily stayed ahead of Neville, who seemed to take the hint. As they came up the stairs from the Dungeons, heading towards the grounds, Lily was suddenly pulled aside by Professor McGonagall.

“There you are, Potter. I see you’re well.” Neville hurriedly passed the two. He was scared of McGonagall, although she wasn’t nearly as terrifying to him as Snape was.

“Yes, professor, thank you.” Lily tried her best to not move her hand, sure she’d bring attention to her tie.

“I see the bludger did nothing to solve your neck issues.”

“Neck issues, professor?” Lily was suddenly self-conscious, very worried about whatever was obviously wrong with her neck. Did it have a wart, was it bent in a strange direction, was it ugly, did it have-

“Yes, your neck. Clearly, something is wrong with it, since your tie always seems to be at odds with your collar.”

“Oh,” Lily said, blushing while she hurried to fix it.

“That’s much better, Miss Potter. I shall see you at our next lesson. Have a good day.” The professor turned to leave, clearly busy.

“Wait, professor!” Lily called, suddenly thinking of something. Professor McGonagall turned around; eyebrows arched in curiosity. “While I have you here, I was wondering if you could help me place a mail order?”


	12. The Philosopher's Stone

With the year rolling into December, the school grounds were now covered in snow. Most students chose to stay inside where it was warm, Hermione included, but Lily kept dragging her out anyway. Lily had never really gotten a chance to enjoy snow before, and she wasn’t going to miss this chance now that she had friends. Ron had been more than willing to participate, and that had also dragged an unwilling Neville out. The Weasley twins always seemed to follow as well, although they always remained hidden until the best opportunity to ambush the four first years. Lily had yet to find out how the twins kept tracking them so efficiently, and when she had vowed to find out, Fred and George had just smiled at her.

“Perhaps someday we shall show you, my student,” the two had said in unison, bowing. They always seemed to be in on some private joke that only they were aware of. Lily wasn’t sure Lee Jordan knew, and he was their best friend. Lily thought that unfair. She’d definitely share the information with Hermione, at the least.

She had tried following them one night as they returned from Quidditch practice, but Lily had lost them after they turned a corner on the sixth floor. As she wandered around, trying to figure out where they went to, they had leapt out at her wearing a horrifying set of Professor Snape masks.

“Potter,” they called as she had run from them, “Get back here! That’ll be 300 points from Gryffindor!

The next week (the week before break), Professor Quirrell had finished his lecture on ghosts (during which, he had nearly fainted only three times, which was an improvement on the hag lesson). Realizing he still had forty-five minutes left, he panicked, quickly looking around the class.

“L-L-L-L-L-Lily,” he stuttered out. Lily’s scar had a brief pang of pain when she looked at the professor, but it was gone before her hand could reach it. This always seemed to happen around Professor Quirrell, although she couldn’t figure out why. “What ch-ch-ch-chapter is n-n-n-next?”

Hermione looked disappointed that he hadn’t asked her instead. “We’re supposed to be learning the Verdimillious charm next, Professor Quirrell,” Lily reminded him. He always called on her or Hermione to answer questions in class, as they seemed to be the only ones who had read ahead. The rest of the class didn’t seem to mind. They considered Defense Against the Dark Arts to be another free period, much like History of Magic. Quirrell never dared to punish anybody for anything. On the rare occasions he did try someone else, he’d just move on to one of the two girls after they said, “I don’t know, Professor.”

“Th-th-th-thank you,” he said in reply. “Th-th-th-three points for G-Gryffindor.” He was also very generous with house points, and was the main reason Gryffindor was in the lead. Lily or Hermione almost always managed to come out of the class with at least a few points earned. Lily thought the other houses must have been seriously slacking if the one class could make that much of a difference.

“Open your t-t-t-texts to the next ch-ch-ch-chapter, please. Ch-ch-choose a p-partner near you, and g-g-get to w-w-w-w-work.” Professor Quirrell took a seat at his desk, looking exhausted. Lily hoped he wasn’t feeling ill. Lily kind of liked him, if only because she desperately wanted to see him get over his fears. She didn’t like the way the other students made fun of him, but she never said anything about it. She got enough lip for daring to say nice things about Professor Snape.

Hermione flipped her book open to the correct chapter. “ _The Verdimillious charm emits sparks that can detect dark magic_ ,” she read aloud.

“And it can also be used offensively in a dueling format, although it is not recommended, due to the slow casting speed,” Lily recited.

“Easy enough,” Hermione said, nodding.

“Professor Flitwick said the text is wrong about the definition when I asked him. He said its _actual_ use is to detect things hidden by dark magic, not the magic itself.” Lily had taken to asking the other professors for clarifying information whenever she had a question regarding Defense. Professor Quirrell had almost passed out the two times she had tried him at the beginning of the year. Thus far, they had been very understanding.

Hermione looked confused. “But why would the text be wrong? I mean, this information is very important, you’d think they’d catch that before printing.”

“Not everybody can be as perfect as you are, Hermione. Look at how many corrections you make for my essays compared to how many I make for yours.”

“No, your essays are excellent! I think you just-“

“If you ladies are done inflating each other’s egos,” Ron interrupted, “Neville and I could use a little help here.” Neville had somehow managed to light his text on fire, and Professor Quirrell hadn’t seemed to notice.

“ _Aguamenti,”_ Lily and Hermione both said, pointing their wands at Neville’s inflamed book. Water shot from the wands, dousing out the flames. Lily had learned that charm from Fred and George, and had shared it with Hermione.

“Thanks,” Neville said, holding up his now soggy, charred book. He grimaced, clearly worried about having to ask Gran for another one.

“Sorry,” Lily said. “We haven’t learned how to dry things yet. Our current books don’t cover it.”

“Perhaps next year,” Ron said, waving his wand around while it shot green sparks. Nobody noticed that Professor Quirrell had left the room.

The students all left once the bell rang, ignoring Quirrell’s sudden disappearance. He sometimes did that when a lesson became especially frightening for him. The sudden book fire must have been too much for him.

Neville and Ron had both managed to pull off the charm, impressing both Lily and Hermione. They had both gotten much better at the actual spell craft they were learning, although they still needed a lot of work on the theory of it. Lily wasn’t sure if they’d ever get the hang of it, to be honest, but Hermione had forbidden the two from just copying the work the two girls put in. Lily had secretly been letting them do so whenever she thought she could get away with it, earning her plenty of “Bless you”s from Ron.

“Well, shall we head to Herbology?” Ron asked, packing up his things. Neville looked at his ruined book one last time, clearly debating whether to just leave it. He picked up his bag without it, clearly making up his mind. Lily put it in her own bag when nobody was looking, thinking she could get some decent spell practice on it, making sure to keep it separate from her other items so it wouldn’t get them wet as well.

“I was hoping to stop by the library, actually,” Hermione said.

“Hermione, we only have 30 minutes!” Lily reminded.

Hermione huffed, but followed them towards the grounds anyway. Lily had to drag her as they neared the library, otherwise the girl may have gone in. Sometimes Hermione was too much, even for Lily.

The first years huddled inside the greenhouse, waiting for the professor to arrive, removing scarves and gloves.

“Good afternoon, class,” Professor Sprout said joyfully as she entered the greenhouse.

“Good afternoon, professor,” the class repeated.

“A bit of a short lecture today, I think. Think of it as an early Christmas gift.” Professor Sprout lifted a clear jar, placing it on her station at the front. “Now, who can name this plant?”

Lily stared at the thing. It looked vaguely like a tentacle, although she had a feeling guessing an octopus would be a terrible idea in a class all about plant life. It had a thin layer of soil at the bottom, although she didn’t know if that was enough to support it. It didn’t seem to move at all, and she wasn’t sure if the plant was even alive. Lily had absolutely no idea what it was. Despite reading through the textbook, her brain never seemed able to identify any plants in practice, and so Herbology was one of her worst subjects, right next to Transfiguration.

Neville raised his hand. The only class he was ever confident in was Herbology, and he was no different now. Professor Sprout seemed to be the only professor he wasn’t terrified of. Even Hermione was unsure about this particular lifeform. She was still brilliant at Herbology, but there was only so much you could glean from vague drawings and descriptions. Practical application was a lot more difficult.

“Yes, Neville?” Professor Sprout said, pointing at the plump boy.

“It’s Devil’s Snare, professor.” Neville seemed quite confident in his answer. He always seemed to come out of his shell when he was talking about plants.

“Well done, Neville. Can you tell me more about the plant?”

“Well, professor, I know it hates light. I’m assuming that’s why it appears to be dead.”

“Excellent, well done, Neville. Have three points for Gryffindor.” Neville smiled broadly, Ron patting him on the back. “Now, the Devil’s Snare can be an extremely dangerous plant, but there’s no need to worry in this bright of a room. See how it’s just laying there, immobile. It’s certainly not dead, and it wouldn’t hesitate to grab onto somebody if it were dark. Be careful at nighttime, or it’ll strangle the life out of you. Now pair up, groups of four, and let’s repot some of these plants, shall we? This specimen I put in a jar for an easy demonstration, but I have more in the back. You may leave once you finish your work, and if I don’t notice you slip out, Happy Holidays!”

Professor Sprout walked around the greenhouse while the first years worked. Lily thought this was likely the easiest assignment they’d had all year in this class. It was the first plant they’d done that didn’t fight back in some way, although it apparently would have put up a fierce one were the situation different.

Thirty minutes later, the group of four left the greenhouse, having finished before everybody else thanks to Neville. The sun was setting, the days now very short, and it was extremely cold. The greenhouse had been quite pleasant since Professor Sprout always kept it nice and toasty for the plants. It made a stark contrast to the chill and drafty hallways of the castle, although it was certainly warmer in there than it currently was outside.

“Well, that was easy,” Ron said, trudging through the snow. He sounded almost disappointed.

“Th-th-thankfully,” Hermione managed, teeth chattering, clinging to Lily for warmth. Lily clung right back, also shivering. It always seemed a lot warmer when they were playing in the snow, but just pushing through it was always a miserable time. It was only made worse due to the snow that was actively falling as they walked back to the castle.

“What say we grab a nice, hot meal before we head to the common room?” Ron offered, noticing the two girls were cold.

“We h-h-h-have to h-h-hit the l-library,” Hermione said.

“Oh, come on, it’s almost the holidays! Can’t you two take a break, just once?”

“We n-n-need to f-finish our h-homework.”

“Well, suit yourselves then. How about you, Neville?”

Neville’s stomach growled in response. Lily couldn’t tell if he was flushing from the cold, or from the embarrassment. “I’ll go with you, Ron, I’m starving.”

The boys splintered off once they reached the Great Hall, Lily and Hermione heading up the stairs towards the library. Lily had to pry Hermione off of her as they climbed the stairs. She wasn’t cold anymore, but Hermione continued shivering as they made their way upwards. Lily knew she’d forget all about the chill once she saw the books.

Lily sat down at their favorite table, pulling out her Charms book. She only needed to finish the work for that class and Transfiguration, then she’d be done. She knew Transfiguration would take most of the night, and settled on doing that after dinner in the warmth of the common room. She hoped they served hot cocoa again. She had brought down a personal cup from her trunk, determined to take some back with her.

Hermione went off into the shelves as Lily worked. Lily flipped it to the section on the Locking charm. Flitwick had skipped the Unlocking charm, citing it caused too many problems in the past. Lily had made Fred and George teach her anyway, and they confessed they had been the ones responsible. Flitwick had taken it out of the curriculum after they let a few gnomes loose into his office. Lily had a vivid image of Flitwick entering his workspace only to be startled by a flock of garden gnomes staring at him.

Hermione dropped a stack of books onto the table, startling Lily out of her Charms homework. She gave the stack a scan, grimacing.

“ _Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century? Notable Magical Names of Our Time? Important Magical Discoveries? A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry?_ Hermione, please tell me we don’t have a research paper nobody has told me about.” Lily was wracking her brain, trying to find the forgotten assignment. History of Magic seemed the most reasonable, considering the subject matter at hand, but they weren’t anywhere near the modern era.

“No, these are to find Nicholas Flamel,” Hermione said as she flung the first book open.

“Nicholas Flamel?” Lily frowned, putting her quill down. “Hermione, are you still on that Snape rubbish?”

“I’m ignoring that. Besides, even if Snape isn’t trying to steal whatever the dog is guarding, _somebody_ is, and I intend to find out what they want.” Hermione sniffed, settling in to read the large tome. Lily, for one, was horrified. She didn’t think she could stand spending her entire Christmas doing an independent study, and she even _liked_ reading. She had only done it over the summer because she didn’t want to bother Neville, and now that she had friends who actually liked her, she wanted to make the most of the time.

“Hermione, haven’t you considered just asking a teacher who he is? Or even Madame Pince, for that matter?”

“Of course I have, Lily, but we don’t want Snape to find out what we’re up to.” Hermione flipped the page, eyes scanning the overbearing text.

“Well,” Lily said, standing up. “Seeing as I have no such qualms, I think I’ll do so.” Hermione grunted, not paying attention. Lily walked up to Madame Pince’s desk. She was dusting the bookshelves near the forbidden section (although not inside said section). She looked eager as Lily came near. She was always willing to answer any questions Lily and Hermione might have, as they seemed to be the only students who shared her reverence for the library.”

“Madame Pince?” Lily began. She knew she could simply come out with the question, but she always tried to mind her manners amongst her elders, even the particularly friendly ones, such as their resident librarian.

“Yes, Miss Potter?”

“I was wondering where I can find information on Nicholas Flamel. We’re doing a bit of an independent study, you see. We came upon his name before, but now we can’t seem to find anything on him.”

Madame Pince looked towards their usual table, smiling as she recognized the stack of books Hermione had selected. “That’s because you’re looking in the wrong place, dear. Nicholas Flamel is very old, you won’t find him in any recent studies. I’ll bring you the right book, it’s quite ancient.”

“Thanks, Madame Pince,” Lily said, returning to her table. Hermione didn’t look up as she sat back down. Lily started humming, watching Hermione skim through useless information. She picked up her quill, deciding to finish up that Charms work while she waited.

Madame Pince arrived just as Lily was finishing up, carrying a large, dusty tome. “Here you are, girls,” she said, setting it down carefully. “Be gentle with this one, it’s very old. Leave it here when you’re done, I’ll take it to its proper space.” Madame Pince walked away before Lily could thank her again. She seemed to just enjoy helping people who actually wanted to learn, meaning just Lily and Hermione. Everyone else came only when they needed to.

Hermione gave Lily a horrified look. “Lily, you didn’t!”

“Hermione, I did,” Lily said as she opened the book to the index.

“But what if Snape finds out!”

“Hermione, I’m going to be completely honest with you. If he doesn’t find out, and he actually is after whatever is past Fluffy, what do you expect us to do? He’s a full wizard, and we’re just first years. We can’t take him on, even with the element of surprise. So, by that logic, it doesn’t matter if he does find out. We’re no threat to him. I’m just trying to satisfy your curiosity.” Lily flipped to deeper in the book, looking for the right page. Hermione huffed, not used to Lily telling her off. Lily had been exceedingly nice the past month and a half, but all the Snape talk was starting to get on her nerves.

“I was planning on telling Professor Dumbledore,” Hermione grumbled at last.

“Wouldn’t Dumbledore know? He’s the one that set Fluffy there in the first place.” Lily found the page she was looking for, giving it a quick scan. “ _The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher’s Stone,_ ” Lily read aloud, “ _a legendary substance with astonishing power. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal._ Well, there you have it, then. Fluffy is guarding the Philosopher’s Stone.” Lily slid the book towards Hermione so that she could read it.

“Why would Snape want the Philosopher’s Stone?” Hermione asked, biting her lip. “Maybe he’s ill, and he needs the Elixir to cure himself?”

“Maybe he’s not paid well enough,” Lily suggested.


	13. A Weasley Family Christmas

The Christmas holidays had finally come, and Lily couldn’t have asked for a better one. Ron and his brothers had stayed behind, his parents gone to visit his brother Charlie in Romania. Hermione had stayed, too, having used up her favors in near regret. They were the only Gryffindors who had stayed behind this year, and so had the whole common room to themselves. Lily had been more excited that she didn’t need to share Weasley with Lavender for a whole month. She needed to put Weasley on a diet, he had been gaining weight from how much Lavender kept feeding him.

Hagrid had dragged in a set of trees that were now lining the Great Hall, along with a splendid mess of lights and string. It was chaotic, but just the right kind of chaotic for Hogwarts. Lily and Hermione had taken to studying in front of the fireplace in the common room (whenever Lily couldn’t convince Hermione to do something more fun) now that they were always open. Madame Pince had been letting the two check out more books than usual, in the spirit of the holidays.

Lily spent a good amount of time playing chess with Ron as well, although she found that she was horrible at it.

“No, move me, I can take the queen on the next turn,” her knight shouted at her as she prepared to move a bishop.

“Well now she can’t do that, can she?” The bishop fired back. “You’ve given away the game, you fool.”

“On second thought, move me next to the stuck-up minister over there, I’d like to show him a thing or two.”

Lily frowned. Her pieces always seemed to be in a foul mood and likely to fight amongst themselves, while Ron’s were currently singing a Christmas carol together.

“Game in three, Lily,” Ron said, smiling with pride.

Lily sniffed. “What if I move this here, instead?” She moved the rook in what she hoped was an excellent move.

“Now it’s check,” Ron said, moving his queen in.

Lily desperately moved her king, who was sobbing. He hadn’t managed to survive a single match since they had started playing months ago.

“Checkmate, Lily,” Ron said, moving his knight into position.

“I don’t think I like chess,” Lily grumbled as she leaned back in her chair.

“Another game, then?”

“Why don’t we go throw some snowballs or something?”

“Can’t,” Ron said as he set the board back up. “McGonagall forbade it after Fred and George kept pelting them at Quirrell’s turban. Said she’d never seen the man so upset.”

Lily sighed, settling back into another exciting round of chess. “Maybe it’d be easier if I played Hermione. Then I could get better before trying you again.”

“Where is Hermione, anyway?”

“In the library,” Lily said, moving a screaming pawn to his doom. “She was trying to find a little more information on the Philosopher’s stone.”

“What’s there left to learn?”

“Nothing, but try asking _her_ that. At this point, it’s just a waiting game to see if anybody goes for it. Check?”

“Not even close,” Ron said, sweeping away her knight with his own. “I’m starting to think you’re just moving your pieces at random.”

“And I’m starting to think that’d be a better strategy than actually trying.”

“Have you thought about what you’re getting for Christmas at all?”

Lily snorted. “I’m not sure I’ll get anything. Maybe something from Gran and Neville, I suppose, but I don’t know how they usually handle gifts.” Lily had received a very rude letter in return when she mailed Gran saying she wouldn’t be coming back for Christmas. She had forgotten and put it off for far too long. Thankfully, it had arrived the same day everybody else had left the castle, so only a dozen people had heard it screaming at her over their breakfast.

“Check,” Ron said at last.

“Thank god. Please, just put me out of my misery.”

“And mate,” Ron said, stretching. “Well, what about some exploding snap? We could play that instead.”

“That scares Weasley!’ She scratched the cat’s head. He had been laying in her lap for the past few hours, which was the main reason she had continuously played chess with Ron. She didn’t dare move, lest she disturb him. “What about your homework? I could help you with that for a little bit.”

“Lily, we have plenty of time for that later!”

“I’m not letting you copy if you forget.”

“Oh, come on, its Christmas!”

“It won’t be by the time it’s due.”

“Fine, alright, I’ll go get it. Want me to grab your bag, too?” Ron got up, stretching again.

“And how do you propose you’ll do that?”

Ron scratched his nose, confused. “By going up to your room?”

“Ron, boys aren’t allowed in the girls’ rooms. It’s posted right above our stairway.”

“Yeah, but you lot aren’t strictly allowed in ours either, and you’ve still come up.” Ron started walking towards the girls’ staircase, determined.

“Fine, Ron, be my guest.” Lily sat back, enjoying the show. She knew she’d have to move Weasley in a moment, but she’d face that when it came to it.

Ron made it ten steps up. “See? No pro-“

The staircase gave way, a loud alarm sounding from inside the girls’ tower. Ron was now on a rather large slide, and he was thrown rudely into the common room, startling Weasley from Lily’s lap.

“I told you, Ron,” Lily said, standing up for the first time in hours. She stretched, enjoying the feeling of movement again.

“That doesn’t seem very fair,” Ron said from his face-first position on the carpet.

“Would you like me to get your bag for you?” Lily asked as she walked up the stairs to her own dorm. The steps had moved back into place once they detected a girl walking on them.

“Yes, please. I just need to lie here for a bit.” Weasley hopped onto Ron’s back, curling up on top of the boy.

Lily awoke on Christmas morning to a loud shriek.

“Who, what?” She yelled, falling from her bed, wand in hand.

“An owl!” Hermione shouted, positively giddy.

Lily looked over, wand still waving. She lowered it, figuring out what was going on.

“I can’t believe it, Lily, somebody got me an owl!” Hermione was pulling the snowy bird from its cage. It nipped at her hand affectionately, blinking its large eyes.

“Merry Christmas,” Lily said, pulling herself back into bed. “I didn’t think it was fair that Ron had a rat and I had a cat while you didn’t have anything. I was going to get you a bat so it fit the rhyming scheme, but got talked out of it.” She cuddled up to her pillow. Weasley was now fully invested in watching the large bird, and had left for the more dangerous waters of Hermione’s bed.

“Lily, you didn’t! How did you do it?”

“McGonagall placed the order for me. I thought it’d make up for skipping your birthday.” Lily buried her face into her pillow, determined to get some more sleep. She had a long night, helping Ron finish the entirety of his homework so they could all enjoy the rest of the break in peace. Lily hoped Neville had already gotten his done. She wasn’t looking forward to pulling an all-nighter upon his return.

Suddenly, Hermione was on Lily’s bed, hugging the girl tightly. Lily tried to fight her off, but struggling only seemed to strengthen her grip.

“Thank you so much, Lily,” Hermione said, crying. “This is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me, thank you so, so-“

“Hermione, please, you’re killing me over here,” Lily said, trying to catch her breath. She was now fully awake, and couldn’t help but cry herself, Hermione’s emotions spreading.

“I’m s-sorry, Lily,” Hermione sobbed, “All I got you was a b-b-b-book!”

“That’s fine, Hermione, I love books.” Lily maneuvered herself into a position where she could hug Hermione back. They laid there together for ten minutes, Lily letting Hermione get it all out of her system. There were a lot more “Thank you”s and “I’m sorry”s before Hermione let her go, still absolutely beaming.

“Well, why don’t you see if she likes you?” Lily asked. “McGonagall told me you need to hold out your arm so the owl can bond to you. If she likes you, she’ll perch on you.”

Hermione held out her arm tentatively, and the snowy owl flew to her. She nipped at Hermione’s ear, in what Lily hoped was an affectionate manner, and Hermione started sniffing again.

“Thank you, Lily,” Hermione said, her voice raspy. She quickly cleared her throat. “You name her for me, I’m a little overwhelmed at the moment.” Hermione brushed at her eyes with her pajama sleeves.

Lily sat there, thinking for a while. The owl stared back at her, looking expectant. “What was the name of that political activist we finished up in November? The one Binns spent a whole week on?”  
“Hedwig!” Hermione said, beaming again. “That’s a wonderful name, Lily. Thank you so much.” Hermione pulled Lily into a hug again, Hedwig choosing to use her head as a perch.

“Well, go on,” Hermione said, finally moving off of Lily’s bed, carrying Hedwig with her. Lily suddenly felt quite cold without another body next to her. “You get started on your own pile now that you’ve gone and made me cry.”

Lily started, suddenly realizing that there was a pile of wrapped gifts laying on her own bed. It had been a bit disturbed by the wrestling of the two girls, but it was significantly larger than Lily would have expected.

“I’ve got presents!” Lily stated, in complete shock.

“Well, of course you do. I just said I got you a book.” Hermione gave Hedwig an owl treat, which had been supplied as a complementary gift from Eeylop’s Owl Emporium for using their mail-order service.

“But there’s so many!” Lily said, sifting through the pile. She didn’t even notice that her pile was a lot smaller than Hermione’s, but Hermione had, and she was now feeling bad. Lily picked up the closest one, feeling at it. “This one’s from Mrs. Weasley! Why would Ron’s mum send my anything?”

“What is it?” Hermione asked, trying to remove the labels from a few of her gifts in an attempt to place them in Lily’s pile. Weasley was being very helpful, swatting at her hands and nipping at her as she tried to be secretive. Hedwig tucked her head under her wing after returning to her cage, determined to get more sleep.

“It’s a sweater!” Lily said, ripping off the paper. She unfolded it, revealing a golden “P” set on the scarlet red base. She quickly threw it over her head, feeling incredibly happy. “Hermione, do you think I can borrow Hedwig so I can write Mrs. Weasley a thank you?”

“Of course you can, Lily! You don’t even have to ask me; you’re welcome to use her whenever you need to. Did you hear that, Hedwig?” Hedwig hooted from inside her cage, head still comfortably tucked. Hermione slipped two packages into Lily’s pile, having determined that was all she’d be able to get away with.

“Hermione,” Lily gasped, causing the girl to flinch. “This book, it’s too much! These are some advanced Charms, where did you even find it?”

Hermione smiled, relieved she hadn’t been caught. “I asked Flitwick for some recommendations, and he offered me this book from his personal collection. He said you may not be able to handle them for a couple more years, but once you could, they’d be very useful.”

“Flitwick gave you it from his _personal collection?_ But why, we aren’t even in his house?”

“He said it was given to him by your mother, and seeing as how you’re the most adept student at Charms he’s had since she attended, he thought it was best if you had it instead.”

Lily flipped through the pages, determined to master them by the end of next year, eyes watering. She knew they were currently beyond her, and she wouldn’t be able to practice over the summer, but if she worked hard she could get far. Charms was her best subject, after all, the only one she could beat Hermione in without any effort, and she was delighted to know her mother had also excelled in it.

“Ron got me a new set of quills,” Hermione said, throwing the paper aside. “Remind me to thank him later, would you? My old set was running a bit ragged.”

“Hermione, what’s this?” Hermione flinched again, thinking her plan had been caught. Lily was holding up a silvery cloak.

“It looks like a cloak. Who sent it?”

‘Dunno,” Lily said, standing to try it on. “There wasn’t a label.” Lily swished it around her body.

Hermione gasped, hand flying over her mouth. “Lily, you- you’re gone!”

“What? I’m right-” Lily looked down, startled to see that she couldn’t see anything below her neck. “I’m invisible! Hermione, it’s an invisibility cloak!” Hermione couldn’t see it, but Lily was now tapping her feet in place, feeling extremely excited.

“Lily, there’s a card in the wrapping, see what it says.”

Lily took the cloak off, carefully tucking it in her trunk before she grabbed the card. She opened it, intending to read it aloud for Hermione. “ _Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well._ That’s all it says.”

“Why did your father leave an invisibility cloak with someone before he died?”

“I dunno, but I’m happy they sent it back. This would have been _really_ useful when I was still living with the Dursleys.” Lily was beside herself. The Charms book wasn’t _quite_ an heirloom, having been a gift for somebody else, but the cloak was something else entirely.

Hermione bit her bottom lip. “Should we report it to Professor McGonagall? I mean, without knowing who it’s from, it could be dangerous.”

Lily looked hurt. “Hermione-“

“Nevermind,” Hermione quickly said, “It was a stupid suggestion, I apologize.”

Lily smiled, grabbing another present from her stack. “Oh, Ron got me a broom polishing kit. He must have picked that up before I got kicked off the team.”

Hermione grimaced. “He did, yeah. I told him to give it to you anyway, that you’d still like it.”

“I do still like it! Maybe McGonagall will let us take the Nimbus for a spin, just for the Holiday.”

“I think you’re still dreaming,” Hermione said.

A few hours later, Lily and Hermione were sitting in the common room. Lily was wearing her sweater still, having put it back on after a shower, and was in the process of writing a thank you note for Mrs. Weasley. Hermione was grooming Hedwig, who seemed to be very appreciative of it, getting her ready for her first delivery. They had already visited McGonagall, who had looked excited when they first arrived. That quickly disappeared once she realized they were there for the broom, and not to wish their (Hermione’s) favorite professor a Merry Christmas. Their request had, of course, been denied.

“Do owls need an address for delivery?” Lily asked.

Hermione paused. ‘I don’t know. Should we ask somebody?”

“The owl I sent to McGonagall didn’t need it, but I think he might have been a Hogwarts owl.”

“I know I read that they’ll simply refuse to deliver if they don’t know where to go, so we could always try first.”

Lily got up from her spot in front of the fire, carrying the letter with her. She held it up to Hedwig, who looked at it, then stuck her leg out. Lily quickly tied it to her, feeling giddy. Hermione opened the window, and Hedwig was off, flying into the distance.

“How long do you think it takes?” Hermione asked, worrying for her new companion.

“I think it depends on how far away Ron lives.”

Hermione opened her mouth, but was interrupted by a sudden screaming from upstairs.

“Speaking of Ron,” Lily said.

“Did you get him an owl, too?”

“No, not at all. I got him an album signed by every current member of the Chudley Cannons.” Lily puffed her chest, proud at her astute gift giving.

“The who?”

“The Chudley Cannons. They’re his favorite Quidditch team, Neville says he never shuts up about them.”

“Lily, that sounds really expensive.”

“Actually, it was cheaper than Hedwig. I don’t think they’re a very popular team.”

“What did you get Neville?”

“I suppose you’ll have to wait and find out.”

“Oh, fine then.”  
Lily and Hermione paused, hearing a door slamming from above. Ron quickly flew down the stairs, carrying the album. He spotted Lily once he reached the common room, breaking into a wide grin. He had Lily in a tight hug before she could so much as say “Hello.”

He broke the hug just as quickly, looking embarrassed. Then he noticed what Lily was wearing, completely forgetting the rest of the thanks he had intended.

“Oh, no, she sent you a Weasley sweater! I told her you weren’t expecting much, but I didn’t think she’d go to the bother.” Ron seemed ashamed, although Lily couldn’t have possibly said why. She had thought it a delightful gift.

“I like it. It’s toasty.” Lily stretched, showing off for Ron. She thought the red sweater matched her hair quite nicely. She also liked the Gryffindor theming. “I just wrote her a thank you, as a matter of fact.”

“Well, at least she didn’t put an ‘L’ on it, Fred and George never would have let you hear the end of it if she had.”

“She could have put an ‘H’ on it for Hazel.”

“Nah, she would never. Not after I told her you prefer Lily, anyway.”

“It’s nice to know you write home to your mum about Lily,” Hermione said from the table with a smirk.

“You’re one to talk, Hermione. I’ve seen your letters. ‘Oh, mom, Lily is just the _greatest_ , I just absolutely _adore-‘”_ Ron dodged an owl treat, thrown by Hermione, who was now just as red as Lily’s hair. Lily sat next to the fire, grooming Weasley, who was watching her two friends fight with interest.

“Where’s yours, ickle Ronniekins?” Fred and George came down the stairs, wearing the other’s sweater. Ron and Hermione stopped fighting, Ron quickly turning towards the twins. Hermione sat back down at her table, looking around at the piles of gifts around her.

“Can’t have a Weasley family Christmas without the annual sweater parade,” the twins said as one. Ron’s ears flushed.

“She sent me maroon again, she knows I hate maroon.”

“Well, best go get it on, wouldn’t want mum hearing that you wouldn’t wear her sweater,” Fred said, wearing a green vest with a ‘G’ on it.

“You wouldn’t,” Ron said.

“Come now, we all have ours on, it’s only fair,” George said, wearing the ‘F’ sweater.

“Yeah, we even forced Percy’s over his head,” Fred said.

“Hermione isn’t,” Ron argued. Hermione was suddenly very invested in a book her parents had gotten her about dental hygiene, still flushed from her argument with Ron. The cover advertised that it came with a deluxe toothbrush, which Lily had mysteriously received in her own gift pile. Curious, indeed.

“Well, Hermione isn’t a member of the family, now is she?” Fred said.

“Lily isn’t, either, and she got one!”

“Au contraire, mon frère,” George said.

“We’ve adopted her,” Fred said.

“An honorary Weasley, that one is,” George said.

“She’ll grow her freckles in no time,” Fred said.

“I’m sure mum will be thrilled to hear she has another daughter,” Percy said, wearing his own ‘P’ sweater. He came down from his dorm, frowning at all the racket his youngers were making. His hair was rather ruffled, likely from the rude treatment it had received from Fred and George.

He tossed Ron’s maroon sweater at the younger brother as he passed. He yawned as he sat down next to the fire. “Grabbed that for you, Ron. Figured you’d forget it.”

“Thanks, Percy,” Ron grumbled, pulling it over his head.

Hours later, the Gryffindors all went down to the Great Hall together. The four tables were gone, replaced by a single table. The staff table was still secluded, but none of the professors had returned home for the holiday. Since there were only the six Gryffindors who stayed, they had combined the rest of the house tables into one, forcing the students to all sit next to each other. The Slytherins still all bunched up together, ignoring the other houses, but Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were mixing fairly well.

The Gryffindors decided to seclude themselves as well, making a family Christmas out of it (plus Lily and Hermione). There were a hundred fat, juicy turkeys lined along the tables, along with heaping piles of buttered mashed potatoes, green beans, hams, puddings, rolls, and all sorts of other goodies. The twins, Lily, and Ron made a competition out of seeing who could eat the most, while Hermione and Percy looked on in disgust. Ron won by half a plate, Lily right behind him. The twins came in dead last, and Lily was pretty sure they had been cheating. She thought she saw them moving their own food onto other plates occasionally, but had been too focused on her own to call them out.

Lily split a Christmas cracker with Ron. She had been expecting it to behave like a simple muggle one, but when the cracker had made a rather cannon-like _boom_ , Lily spilled out of her seat. Ron laughed, putting on the Admiral’s hat that popped out of it, while several white mice ran down the table. Hermione squeaked, quickly lifting her plate before they could get on it.

Lily watched Hagrid at the staff table, who was growing increasingly red-faced as he downed bottle after bottle of wine. Eventually, he leaned over, giving McGonagall a quick peck on the cheek. McGonagall, to Lily’s surprise, blushed, her hat sideways. Professor Dumbledore had swapped his pointed hat for a crown of flowers, and was now staring lovingly at a pair of socks he had gotten from another cracker.

Hours later, Lily and the others set off from the Great Hall, heading for the common room. Lily had managed to get a new chess set from a cracker, as well as a pair of lightning shaped earrings (which had seemed a little _too_ perfectly matched for her) made from ruby (her birthstone, which made the whole thing even more suspicious). She had those on now, although they were hidden by her hair. She considered putting said hair back into a ponytail to show off the earrings, but she felt it would all pull a little too much attention to her scar, and she wasn’t quite ready for that yet.

Lily broke in her new chess set by losing spectacularly to Ron. She had somehow managed to not capture a single piece from Ron’s army. She blamed it on Fred and George, who had been offering advice the whole game. She was fairly certain they were just trying to embarrass her, and they had succeeded. Ever Hermione had joined in, making fun of Lily’s total loss to the Ginger General.

Hours later, Lily climbed the stairs to her dorm room, completely exhausted. Hermione had gone up much earlier, unable to stay awake from the day’s activities. Lily entered quietly, so as not to wake her. She was passed out on her bed, snoring, which was very unusual for the bushy-haired girl. Lily took it as a sign that Hermione had had an especially excellent Christmas.

Lily stepped carefully towards her bed, swearing when she stubbed her toe on her trunk. Hermione didn’t seem to wake, although Weasley, who had been sleeping with her, did look up at the noise. Lily apologized to the cat, bending over to fix her trunk. She froze when she saw the invisibility cloak laying on top, completely forgotten in all the excitement.

Lily suddenly wasn’t tired anymore. She threw the cloak over her body in a hurry, deciding that she’d try it out by roaming the castle. She briefly considered waking Hermione, but decided that for this first adventure she’d prefer to be on her own. It was the only heirloom she had from her father, and she didn’t want to share it quite yet.

Percy was still snoring on his armchair when Lily came back down the stairs. Fred and George were giggling, trying to change the color of his hair to a bright pink with their wands. They were going hair by hair, trying to drag it out for as long as they could. Ron was curled up on the couch, fast asleep, the chocolate he had been eating melting on his sweater.

Lily snuck past, quiet as a cat. She accidentally bumped into Ron’s couch on her way, causing George to glance up quickly, but he seemed satisfied that it had been Ron grunting, and went back to work on Percy’s hair. Lily walked backwards, watching the twins as she pushed open the portrait. They looked up, horrified, as nobody entered. Lily didn’t get to see the rest, as the portrait shut her on the other side. She still felt the looks on their faces were immensely satisfying, and was contemplating all the ways she could get revenge now that she could turn invisible.

“Who’s there?” The Fat Lady asked sleepily as Lily crept down the hallway. She suddenly realized that it was _very_ dark in the castle at night. She stopped for a moment, allowing her eyes to adjust to the dim moonlight that was coming from the occasional window. It didn’t seem to be working, though. She was about to head back in, the cold and the dark getting to her, when she suddenly realized she had magic at her disposal.

_“Lumos,”_ she said, igniting her wand. Holding it under the cloak, the light still streamed out around her, allowing her to see. She hoped it looked as creepy as she imagined it to be, seeing a moving light with seemingly no source. Lily walked down the hallway, heading for the staircase.

She tried the first door she came to on the sixth floor, finding it was locked.

“ _Alohomora,_ ” she whispered. The lock clicked, and she pushed the door open. It was just a closet, Lily found, disappointed. There wasn’t even anything _in_ the closet. It was just empty. Lily grumbled.

“There has to be something worth checking out,” She whispered to herself after finding yet another empty classroom. She was starting to wonder if Hogwarts was actually interesting at all. Then she realized there was somewhere she’d never been that was _very_ interesting. She ran down the steps, excited.

She threw the doors open to the library, with a little too much enthusiasm, heading straight for the restricted section.


	14. Caught in the Act

Lily walked between the shelves of the forbidden section, praying Filch or Madame Pince weren’t patrolling the library right now. She reached for her neckline before realizing she wasn’t wearing her tie. She was suddenly very grateful for the sweater. She felt she’d be a lot colder without it.

The forbidden section was _creepy._ Lily wasn’t sure if it was because she knew she wasn’t supposed to be there, or if it was because the books seemed to be whispering to her. Lily spotted a tome labelled _Advanced Charms_ and picked it up on instinct, wondering why it was in here. She flipped it to a random page, deciding to try a quick one and then get out of there. A book of charms was likely the only thing she’d be able to pull off so quickly. Her nerves were wearing thin, so she just wanted to give it the one attempt.

Lily found a simple looking diagram very quickly. It was just a simple point and incantation. She had been expecting a book of advanced charms to be significantly more difficult than this. The book Hermione had given her was full of complex movements and theory. Lily pointed her wand at a nearby chair, reading aloud the incantation, fully expecting it not to work.

“ _Confringo,”_ she said, realizing in horror that the definition next to it said ‘blasting curse.’ A small lick of flame flew from the tip of her wand, quickly flying over to the chair. Time seemed to slow down, Lily grabbing at her head in horror at what she had done. The small flame reached the chair, touching it.

The chair exploded into flames, sending shrapnel flying. Lily threw herself onto the floor, narrowly avoiding a large splinter that flew to where her head had been just moments ago. She laid there, terrified to move, on top of the forbidden book. She looked up, relieved to see that the fire hadn’t spread onto any of the nearby books. She would have been expelled for sure if they had. She laughed nervously, not believing her luck.

“PEEVES!” She heard Filch shout from the hallway. Lily jumped up, shoving the book back onto the shelf, then suddenly realizing she had dropped her wand. She grasped desperately at the floor, trying to find it, hearing Filch’s footsteps, throwing aside shreds of the chair. She brushed aside a cold piece of metal, not knowing where it had even come from. Finally, her hand grasped a thin piece of wood, and she could feel the familiar warmth between her fingers. She ran for it, sprinting away, not caring if Filch heard.

She made it out to the hallway, leaning against a wall to catch her breath. Filch ran back out as well, looking wildly in every direction. Lily almost had a heart attack every time his eyes passed through where she was standing. She was suddenly very thankful that her wand had extinguished herself, and she was cursing herself for trying out a spell without reading what it did first. She had wanted to be fast, and now she was paying for it. She could already hear Hermione’s scolding, and quickly decided that, no matter what, so she wouldn’t mention this little trip to the restricted section.

Suddenly, quite a few professors made their way into the hallway, just as Lily had begun to creep slowly along the wall. She cursed silently as Professor McGonagall narrowly avoided bumping into her. McGonagall glanced in her direction, causing Lily to panic, but she quickly looked away when she saw nothing. Lily looked behind her, thankful that she had stopped right in front of a painting.

“What is all this racket, Filch?” Snape drawled.

“Peeves has done it now, professors. He’s blown up a chair in the library. It’s made quite a mess, I’m afraid.”

“And you’re sure it wasn’t a student?” Professor Snape poked his head into the library, and Lily hoped he’d go inside with the rest of them.

“Surely not!” Professor McGonagall said, outraged. “Even the Weasley twins aren’t stupid enough to sneak out in the middle of the night and blow up the library. I doubt they’d even know how to find it, seeing as how they avoid it like the plague.”

“I believe there are two students who always seem to be in the room, aren’t there, Minerva?” Lily paled, hoping he wasn’t going where she thought he was going.

“I hope you aren’t implying that Miss Granger and Miss Potter would be out of bed after hours, Professor Snape, sneaking around the library and blasting the furniture.” McGonagall pursed her lips, daring the Slytherin head of house to take his accusation further. Lily was now ashamed of herself, because that was exactly what she had just done.

“Surely not, Minerva. I was merely thinking out loud. It’s far more likely one of my dunderheads would risk facing my wrath than it is those two would deface their precious library.”

Professor Flitwick yawned. He had been the last to arrive. Professor Quirrell simply hadn’t bothered to show up.

Professor Snape perked up, as if he had suddenly realized something. “I must be off. Business to attend to.” Snape ran off before the other professors could say anything, down towards the forbidden corridor. Lily’s heart sank, suddenly worried that her friends had been right.

“Well, now,” Professor McGonagall huffed. “I don’t know where he’s heading to in such a hurry. If this was an attempt on the Philosopher’s Stone, then it was a very poor one. They pulled the whole staff to the exact floor they needed us to avoid!” Lily made a mental note to tell the gang that they had been correct about the stone, although it wasn’t really news at this point.

“Perhaps it was Peeves after all, Minerva,” Flitwick suggested, yawning as he turned to go back to his quarters. McGonagall went inside the library, grumbling about having to clean up the mess. Filch looked around maliciously one more time before heading upstairs.

Lily stood frozen for a few more moments, before proceeding carefully down the hallway towards the staircase. She made it up to the fifth floor, where she ran into a staircase that had decided it was going _down_ now instead of up. Needing an alternate route back to her house, she set off into the fifth floor, feeling around in the darkness. Now that the professors were up and about, she didn’t want to risk the wand light. Filch might mistake it for a ghost and ignore it, but she didn’t think Snape or McGonagall would.

The first four doors Lily tried had all been locked, and she had been too scared to try the unlocking charm, lest McGonagall walk around the corner. But as she approached door number five, Mrs. Norris walked around the corner, eyeing where Lily stood. It continued staring and Lily thought for sure that it could see her. It ran off, and fearing Filch, she threw herself into the door, only to find that it was locked.

“ _Alohomora,_ ” she whispered quickly. She threw herself inside, then swung her wand back around to the door. “ _Colloportus.”_ The door clicked, locking itself firmly. Lily leaned back against the far wall, laughing to herself. She had come too close tonight, and felt she was losing it. She threw the cloak off her body, suddenly feeling too hot.

Lily stood after ten minutes passed, hoping Filch would have moved on. She slung the cloak back over herself. As she crossed the room, she froze, spying movement out of the corner. She turned, quickly raising her wand.

It was just a mirror. Lily let out a sigh of relief, watching her reflection wipe her brow as she did so. Then she realized she was currently invisible, and she froze again.

Lily took a tentative step forward, and then gasped as she did so. The reflection mirrored her step, and as she came closer, other figures suddenly appeared in the background. Lily quickly turned around, raising her wand again.

There was nobody behind her. “ _Verdimillious,”_ Lily whispered. The green sparks lit up the room, but revealed nothing. Lily looked over her shoulder, and the figures were clearly still there, but there was nothing in front of her.

Lily turned to face the mirror, ready to blast it to pieces with her new spell if it tried anything. She took one step, and then another, and then one more after that, remaining cautious.

Lily was now standing right in front of the mirror. She could see sweat dripping down the side of her face, wand still raised. She looked up, eyeing the figures behind her. They looked like they were standing right over her shoulder. There was a man on her right with messy black hair and brown eyes covered by a pair of glasses. The woman on the left was smiling kindly, with long, red hair and beautiful green eyes.

She looked just like Lily.

“Mom? Dad?” Lily said, lowering her wand. The man joined the woman in smiling and waved. Her mom placed a hand on her shoulder, and Lily instinctively looked over at it, seeing nothing. She looked back at the mirror, tears coming to her eyes. “How are you-“

There was a sudden scuffling coming from outside, and Lily remembered the predicament she was in. She looked back at her parents, who were urging her silently to go, their mouths forming words she could _almost_ hear. Lily bit her lip, not wanting to leave.

“I’ll be back tomorrow night, I promise,” she said. She pointed her wand at the doorknob. “ _Alohomora,”_ she said, crying. She swung the door shut behind her. “ _Colloportus._ ” Lily walked down the hall quickly, deciding she’d check the staircase again, wiping away the tears with her sweater. She only made it a few feet down the hall before she froze again.

“I’ve got you now, Quirrell. _Lumos_.” Snape’s wand lit, revealing him holding the frightened, turbaned professor to the wall.

“P-P-Professor S-S-S-Snape!” He spat out. Quirrell splayed out on the wall behind, clinging to it as if his life depended on it. Lily really hoped she wasn’t about to witness a murder, she had already had a long enough day.

“Drop the act, Quirrell. That is the fourth time I have found you near the forbidden corridor since the term began. What, pray tell, keeps bringing you there? Hmm?”

“I d-d-d-d-don’t know what you m-m-m-m-mean! I’ve been p-p-patrolling the fifth f-floor, just as o-ordered.”

“A pathetic lie, Quirrell, seeing as how I chased you up here. It would have been better to pretend you were just checking up on the defenses, but, then, you never were very smart, were you?”

“I would n-n-n-never, the d-d-dog would g-get me!”

Snape hesitated. “Very well, then. I suppose I shall just have to see what the headmaster thinks about all of this. And if I find you there again, not even he will be able to stop my hand.” Snape let the Defense professor go, throwing his cloak back as he went along. Quirrell whimpered, then ran in the other direction.

Lily stood there, amazed at what just happened. Not only did she now know for sure what Fluffy was guarding, thanks to Professor McGonagall, but she had a new suspect for who was trying to steal it. She only hoped anybody would believe her. Quirrell didn’t seem the type to steal anything, which was undoubtedly why Snape hadn’t turned him in yet. Everybody else probably though like her fellow first years, and assumed he was the one after it instead.

Lily looked back, considering checking on the mirror again now that the professors had moved on. She bit her lip, heading back for the staircase. Professor Snape was heading upstairs, now that the staircase had fixed itself. She didn’t want to follow him, but she needed to go up anyway if she was going to get back to the common room.

Professor Snape passed the sixth floor, heading up to the seventh, Lily sneaking close behind. She was growing increasingly worried. Snape was getting very close to the Gryffindor common room.

In fact, they were now in front of the Fat Lady, who was snoring loudly.

“Ahem,” Snape cleared his throat, causing the Fat Lady to jerk awake.

“Oh, Professor,” the Fat Lady said, “I’m afraid I can’t let you in, on account of-“

“I do not require access,” Snape drawled, “I am simply making sure that all the Gryffindors are still inside. We’ve had some defacement of property.”

“Well, now, surely you aren’t suggesting that the Gryffindors are-“

“Just answer the question.”

“No one has left. Not a single soul.”

“Thank you,” Snape said, sweeping his cloak as he left the vicinity. The Fat Lady huffed, watching the professor walk away.

Lily bit her lip. She needed to get back inside, but was worried that the Fat Lady would call Snape back even if she was invisible. The ghosts wouldn’t need to speak the password, Nick always just came right in whenever he wanted to.

She decided that she had to try. If the Fat Lady wouldn’t let her in, then she’d just hide in a nearby broom closet until the morning, she had found enough of those tonight.

“ _Felix Felicis,”_ Lily whispered.

“Well, now,” The Fat Lady huffed, scanning the hallway. “After all the effort I went to defending you, somebody did sneak out after all? I’m half-tempted to fetch the professor!”

“ _Felix Felicis,”_ Lily repeated, biting her lip. “Please,” she added, figuring it couldn’t hurt.

“Very well. I’ll just let Professor McGonagall deal with you, then. Good luck” The Fat Lady swung open, allowing Lily access.

Lily rushed past her quickly, not bothering to give thanks. She didn’t need to be lectured by a _painting_ , she already felt bad enough for her antics tonight. She just hoped she’d have the willpower to never use the restricted section again.

Lily threw off her cloak as she walked by the fireplace, heading for the tower staircase.

“Ahem,” she heard behind her. She froze, imagining Snape coming back and being allowed in. Then she realized that the voice had sounded more like a woman than it did Snape, and that made her panic even worse.

She turned, facing Professor McGonagall. The professor was sitting in one of the armchairs. Lily didn’t know how she hadn’t noticed her there. She was slightly relieved to see that Professor McGonagall wasn’t red with fury, but then she remembered that she wasn’t the type to outwardly show how upset she was. Lily tried to compress in on herself to appear as small as possible. She tucked the cloak behind her, knowing full well that it was far too late to hide it.

“Well,” the professor started, “I don’t know where you got your hands on an invisibility cloak, young lady, but I will most certainly be taking that.” McGonagall stood, holding her hand out in front of her. Lily felt the tears coming on, but handed it over, cursing herself for getting it taken away when she had only gotten to keep it for less than a day.

“Where do I begin, Miss Potter?”

Lily sniffed, not answering.

“You snuck out past curfew. You entered the restricted section. You, undoubtedly, tried out a new spell from a book on advanced charms. You then blew up a chair, which I do believe was an accident, albeit one caused by sheer stupidity. You then threw the book back on its shelf, upside down, I might add. And, in your haste, you dropped this.” McGonagall held out her hand, holding a ruby earring shaped like a lightning bolt. Lily’s hands instinctively went to her ears, and sure enough, one of them was missing.

“What were you thinking, Miss Potter?”

“I- I was just exploring,” Lily said, trying to offer some shred of explanation.

“And you thought it would be a good idea to enter the _restricted section_ , where we keep all of the dark magic tomes, and practice a spell?”

“It-it was a spur of the m-moment thing, professor,” she added, as if that excused it.

“Next time, Miss Potter, I suggest you bring Miss Granger with you. She seems capable of keeping you from trying to get yourself killed, where I always seem to fail.”

Lily sniffed, wiping at her eyes.

“Seeing as how it is the holidays, I will not report you to the headmaster, nor to Filch or Madame Pince. But you will be punished.

Lily nodded. It was only fair, after what she had just done.

“You will write me a meter on how much of an idiot you are. Yes, Miss Potter, a meter. Be thankful I just don’t want to read anymore than that. You will also serve a detention with me every Saturday for the rest of the semester. We will work on bringing up your miserable Transfiguration marks. Good night, Miss Potter. Do _not_ let me catch you outside again. I will not be nearly so forgiving the next time.” Professor McGonagall placed Lily’s earring in her hand, then left the common room.

Lily couldn’t believe her luck. She ran up the staircase, wiping her eyes again. She just hoped she’d get the cloak back when the year ended.

She woke up late the next morning, Hermione letting her sleep in for once. She was surprised she had gotten any sleep at all, but she must have been more exhausted than she thought.

Lily took a longer than usual shower before heading down. She put the earrings back in, if only to pretend nothing had gone wrong at all. She had settled on not talking about her adventures during the last night. At least, not wholly. She would share the mirror, she decided, if only so she could have an excuse to go look at it again, but talking about all the information she learned last night would reveal too much. She settled on trying to subtly hint at what she had learned as the months went by. With the teachers guarding the stone, she didn’t see any reason to be proactive.

“Good morning,” Hermione said from the couch, where she was reading the Charms book.

“Good morning,” Lily said, sitting next to her. She was trying to figure out how best to bring up the mirror without making Hermione suspicious, not to mention the fact that she had already gotten the cloak confiscated.

“Where were you last night?” Hermione asked.

Lily took her chance. “I was trying out one of my gifts. You know the one.” Lily was trying to be vague. She hadn’t yet shared the cloak’s existence with anyone else. Fred and George were sitting nearby, arguing with Percy about his now fully pink hair. She was sure they’d try to break into McGonagall’s office if they found out there was an invisibility cloak in there.

Hermione looked up from her book. “ _You snuck out?”_ Hermione looked horrified. She glanced around, seeing the Weasley boys. She got up, motioning for Lily to follow her. They went out into the hallway. The Fat Lady sniffed as they walked away, but she didn’t say anything. Hermione led her to the first empty broom closet they came to, opening the door. She quickly shut it behind them once they were both inside.

“YOU SNUCK OUT?” She yelled, causing Lily to flinch. “I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS, LILY, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH TROUBLE YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN INTO?”

Lily shrunk as much as she could. It was slightly less effective now that she was growing so quickly. That was probably why it hadn’t worked on McGonagall. If she had still been as small as when she first met the professor, she might still have the cloak. “Hermione, I really don’t need this-“

“Well, _clearly_ you do!” She said less loudly. “I mean, Lily, you _know_ how bad it would be if you got caught outside after hours! I mean, you’re just lucky McGonagall didn’t catch you!”

Lily bit her lip. Hermione’s mouth dropped open in realization.

“She DID find you?”

“Well, she didn’t find _me_ , she found-“

“Lily, _please_ tell me they aren’t expelling you.” Hermione suddenly looked a lot more nervous than angry.

“No,” Lily quickly said, “But I do have detention. And McGonagall took the cloak.”

Hermione let out a gasp of relief. “Oh, thank god, detention, that’s not too bad. The cloak is a travesty, to be sure, but maybe it’s better this way if it’ll keep you out of trouble.”

“Well, it’s more than just _one_ detention.”

Hermione frowned. “How many detentions?”

Lily gulped. “One every weekend for the rest of the school year, actually.”

Hermione’s mouth dropped open again, but she seemed lost for words.

“And I have to write a meter on how much of an idiot I am.”

Hermione snorted, her brain seemingly working again. “Well, I suppose that’s fair. You could fill up three easily.”

“Thanks, Hermione.”

“Don’t thank me. I have more I’d like to say, but as I’m certain Professor McGonagall gave you more than an earful last night, I’ll let it pass. For now.” Hermione looked toward the door of the closet they were in, then back to Lily. “I hope your little excursion was worth it. Did you find anything useful?”

“Actually, Hermione, there’s something I’d like to show you.”

Hermione dutifully obeyed Lily, following her down to the fifth floor. Lily wished she still had the cloak, but it likely wasn’t necessary for this trip. If the mirror was forbidden, it wouldn’t be in a random room on the fifth floor where anybody could find it.

“ _Alohomora,_ ” she said, unlocking the door once they finally reached it. Hermione frowned, but she entered the classroom with Lily. Lily locked it behind them, not wanting to be interrupted.

Lily stood in front of the mirror, and her parents showed up behind her again, smiling and loving. Lily couldn’t help but smile back.

“Do you see them, Hermione?” She asked.

“See who?”

“My parents.”

“Lily, all I see is you.”

Lily frowned. Her parents were right there, smiling at her, making her feel emotions she didn’t even know she had. “Maybe it only works for whoever is standing right in front of it.”

“I don’t understand, Lily, why did you bring me down here?” Hermione shook her head, waiting for an explanation.

“I don’t know why, Lily, but this mirror shows me my parents.” She never tore her eyes from the mirror. “I’d never seen them before last night. I really _do_ look like my mum.”

“Oh, Lily,” Hermione said, pulling her into a hug, deciding she could forgive her for sneaking out after all. “Do you think I could have a turn? I’d like to see my family, too, even though it hasn’t been _that_ long. Maybe we can even figure out how to get you to see them as well.”

Lily bit her lip, not wanting to move. “Sure,” she said at last, moving out of the way. Hermione took her place, then gasped.

“Lily, I don’t think this mirror shows your family,” she said quickly, excited.

Lily frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I see myself, graduating at the top of our class! Dumbledore is shaking my hand, congratulating me! And you’re there too!” Hermione turned, beaming. “Do you think it shows the future?”

“How could it?” Lily said, feeling worse than she had when McGonagall confronted her. “My parents are dead, Hermione.”

The smile vanished from Hermione’s lips. “Oh, I’m sorry Lily, I shouldn’t have-“

“It’s alright, Hermione. I know you didn’t mean it to hurt, you were just excited.” Lily bit her lip. “Do you mind if I have another look?”

Hours later, Lily joined the rest of the Gryffindors in the Great Hall. Hermione had left much earlier, leaving Lily to have her moment. Lily only left because she was starving, having not eaten all day. She could have stayed there forever, she thought.

Lily ate a quick dinner, mostly giving vague responses to any questions put towards her. Hermione looked uncomfortable, but she didn’t push the issue. After she was done eating, Lily returned to the mirror room.

She sat down in front of it, noticing for the first time the engraving around the frame: _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi._ She ignored it, focusing instead on her parents. Lily loved that her mother had the same dark red hair as her. Every time the elder Lily saw the younger one, she started crying, which would always set the younger Lily to crying as well. Her father always looked torn between hugging Lily and standing at a comfortable distance. He always looked like he was on the verge of tears as well, but that he was too proud to let anybody see him cry, even his wife and child. Lily was sad that she didn’t seem to share any features with her dad. All she had as a connection to him was the cloak he had left behind, and that was now sitting in McGonagall’s office.

There was a knock at the door, making Lily jump. Hermione pushed her way in, looking around the room. Lily had forgotten to lock the door behind her.

“Lily, are you still in here?”

Lily quickly rubbed the tears from her eyes. “Yeah, I’m here, Hermione.”

Hermione sat next to her friend. “Do you want to head up to the common room?”

“Actually, I think I’ll stay here a bit longer.”

“Are you sure? We should probably get going on that essay of yours if you’re going to finish before the semester starts.”

“I’ll start it tomorrow, Hermione. I just want to sit here for a little bit.” Lily hadn’t taken her eyes off of the mirror since Hermione sat down.

Hermione bit her lip, then stood. “Very well. But I’ll be back before curfew is over.”

“I’ll be fine, Hermione. I promise I won’t stay out late again; I’ve learned my lesson.”

“That didn’t stop you from getting caught last time.” Hermione left the room, leaving Lily alone.

“I think you should listen to Hermione,” a voice came from behind.

Lily jumped up, grabbing her wand, spinning around wildly. She halted once she saw who it was. “Professor Dumbledore? How did you get in here?”

“I do not require a cloak to become invisible,” Dumbledore said, waving his wand to summon a chair. “I believe you’ve grown quite attached to the Mirror of Erised in such a short amount of time, Miss Potter.”

“Is that what it’s called, Professor?” Lily asked, sitting in front of the mirror again.

“Indeed it is. Have you figured out what it does yet, Lily?”

Lily shook her head. “It shows my parents, but for Hermione it showed the future.”

“What Miss Granger saw was not, in fact, the future. It was simply her heart’s greatest desire. Yours, much more sadly, is just to know the parental love you have been so short on all your life.”

Lily frowned. She had been hoping it was possible to bring her parents back, somehow, even if she wouldn’t find the answer for decades. “How does it know what my parents look like, Professor, when not even I do?”

“The mirror is connected to magics deeper than even my understanding, I’m afraid. Some have even gone mad trying to bring what it shows to reality.”

“What do you see, Professor?”

“I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks.”

Lily nodded. She didn’t think the professor was telling the truth, but it had been a very personal question, and she wasn’t going to dig any deeper.

“I have to leave, don’t I, Professor?”

“I’m afraid so, Lily. The mirror’s storage in this room was only ever supposed to be temporary. I was supposed to move it ages ago, but simply lost track of time. I actually came to remove it last night, but when I found you sitting here, I thought I’d give you a chance to enjoy it. I didn’t expect you to get quite so attached, I must admit. It’s dangerous to obsess over the mirror.”

“Will I ever get to see it again, Professor?” Lily’s eyes were filling with tears, the same as her mother’s. Even her dad couldn’t help letting a tear fall, although he quickly swiped at it.

“I’m afraid not, Lily. It is too dangerous to keep here.” Professor Dumbledore put a hand on her shoulder, having apparently gotten up from his seat. “I understand your sorrow, Lily. But, try to understand, these aren’t your real parents. They are the perfect ideal of your parents, crafted by what you feel they should be like.” The professor helped her up, gesturing to the door.

Lily noticed the old man’s eyes twinkle as he handed it over. She stuffed it in her robes, turning to leave, holding in her feelings as best she could. She hesitated as she reached for the knob, thinking of a question.

“Professor?”

“Yes, Lily?”

Lily turned, wanting to look at the headmaster. “How’d you know about the cloak? Were you the one that had it?”

Dumbledore looked at Lily sadly. “Yes, Lily, I’m afraid so.”

“Can I ask why, Professor? You said you didn’t need it to turn invisible.”

“I’m sorry once again, Lily, but I must ask for your patience. I cannot tell you today, nor even this year, but I promise I shall tell you in the future.”

Lily nodded, turning to leave the professor, who was now staring sadly at the mirror, tears filling his eyes.

Hermione ran up to Lily when she returned to the common room, excited.

“Lily! Mrs. Weasley wrote back, it just came in!” Hermione brandished the letter. Lily took it, not feeling quite as eager.

“Let’s head up to the dorm,” she said, not wanting to read it in front of the boys. Lily went ahead, leaving Hermione to follow her. She was glad Hermione didn’t ask about the mirror again. She didn’t want to talk about it anymore, now that she was forbidden from seeing it.

She sat on her bed, Weasley curling up on her lap. Hermione took a seat on her own bed, eagerly waiting.

“Where’s Hedwig?” Lily asked as she opened the envelope.

“Gone to the Owlery to rest. Well, go on, what does it say?”

Lily gave it a read through silently.

Dear Lily,

I’m so glad you liked the sweater! I thought about putting an ‘L’ on it, but Arthur suggested it might be a little embarrassing. I meant to pack you some fudge, too, but Ginny got into it when I wasn’t looking. I’ll be sure to send some soon, we’ve just returned from Romania, and we’re a bit tired.

I’ve had word from the twins that they’ve been tutoring you! I certainly hope they haven’t been giving you any bad ideas. I’d hate to see you get in trouble because they thought it’d be funny to teach you how to blow something up. Not that they’d tell you that’s what it did first, oh no, they’d save that until after. They tried to mail a toilet seat back for Ginny in September, and I had to spend an hour in a Floo communication with McGonagall to convince her to not suspend the two of them. I’ve had word from Percy that you’ve gotten a few detentions, and if I hear that they’re responsible, you better believe they’ll be hearing from me very shortly after. Best to just ignore them, really.

Ron’s written home saying he invited you lot to visit over the summer and we’d love to have you, whether it’s during the summer or even next Christmas. Make sure to bring the cat, I’d love to meet our youngest boy.

Feel free to write me any time, I’ll be happy to help you out with anything you need. Looking forward to having you over the summer!

Much Love,

Molly Weasley

Lily tossed the letter to Hermione to let her read, as she closed the curtains around her bed. She wiped her eyes. She wasn’t sad this time, but she still didn’t want Hermione to see. Matter of fact, she felt much of the same warmth inside as she had when Hermione hugged her on Halloween.


	15. Dragontaming

The rest of the holidays were uneventful and flew by, Lily just barely finishing her punishment work. Ron and Hermione had spent the remaining time laughing at her, Ron having been filled in on what had happened afterwards. Lily hadn’t wanted to tell him, but once he noticed the title of her essay was “ _Why I’m a Huge Moron,”_ it had become unavoidable.

“Serves you right, not inviting me,” he had said over breakfast. “Now I’ll never know what my heart’s desire is. I certainly hope it was more impressive than Hermione’s.”

“What’s wrong with my dream?”

“Please, graduating top of our class? I would have thought you’d aim bigger than that. Your only competition is Lily, and it’ll be a miracle if she doesn’t fail Transfiguration.”

“My grades aren’t that bad,” Lily grumbled. She poked at her eggs. They were all just killing time, waiting for the Hogwarts Express to return with the rest of the students.

“I think you’re forgetting that there’s an entire house dedicated to knowledge and learning, Ronald,” Hermione said, chewing on a piece of toast. She had finally learned to pace her meals so that she wasn’t stuck for an hour waiting on Ron and Lily.

“Please, Bill beat them too. They don’t seem to be very good at actually using all their knowledge, considering that’s all they’re known for.” Ron said this a little too loudly, earning him a few glares from the remaining Ravenclaws. Ron was facing them from his seat, and called out to them. “What? It’s true! If you all didn’t slack so much, you wouldn’t be losing to two Gryffindors!”

“Ronald, would you please?”

“Oh, come off it, Hermione. We’re supposed to be the stupid, brave ones, everyone knows that.”

“Ron, everybody else already hates the Slytherins,” Lily said, “We don’t need Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw uniting against the Gryffindors, too.”

“I don’t think they’d do that,” Ron said, draining his glass of pumpkin juice. “It’d just unite them against you two. The rest of us Gryffindors are right where we belong.” Ron shoved more toast into his mouth.

“Lovely,” the two girls said as one, Lily doing her best to imitate Ron as she fit as much French toast into her own mouth as she possibly could. Hermione just shook her head, taking another bite of toast.

Lily stopped by McGonagall’s office on the way back from breakfast to turn in her essay.

“Thank you, Miss Potter. I shall see you Saturday for the first detention.” McGonagall didn’t look up. Lily left without a word.

Hours later, Neville finally returned alongside all the other students. Lily and Hermione had taken the armchairs in front of the fireplace for what was likely the last time. First years typically weren’t allowed the best seats, the older students would always remove them whenever the Prefects (meaning Percy, as his female counterpart didn’t care) weren’t watching.

“Lily!” Neville said cheerily. “Thank you for the gift, it was wonderful.”

“What did you get, Neville?” Hermione asked, curiosity still burning. Lily had made her wait far too long.

“A flutterby bush! Gran helped me secure it in the garden. It’ll have to stay in the pot until the summer, but when we get home, we can finally plant it!”

Hermione looked confused. “What’s a flutterby bush?”

“It’s a bush that shakes,” Lily said.

“Is that- is that all?” Hermione stuttered.

“Well,” Neville said, “it also produces a scent, but that only happens once a century.”

Hermione faked a look of interest, obviously no longer caring. Lily happened to agree, but it was what Gran had suggested when she mailed home, and Neville obviously enjoyed it.

With term back up, the first years suddenly found themselves a lot busier. The professors were kicking everything up a notch, quickly heading towards the endgame of exams.

In Transfiguration, they were learning the _Avifors_ spell to turn objects into birds. Lily was having an especially tough time with this concept, barely managing to get her objects to seem bird _-like_ , let alone completely into a bird. She had finally mastered turning a needle into a match using _Flintifors_ , and that was something even Neville had mastered ahead of her. She didn’t like to think about having to turn it back into a needle, because that she had yet to accomplish. Lily hadn’t realized how terrible she was at Transfiguration until the pace picked up, and she was now very grateful for those detentions with McGonagall. She very clearly needed the help.

“You have to envision the object as the other, Miss Potter,” she said in one such lecture. They were working on an actual statue of a bird, to make it easier on her. “It should be easy to see here, but it will be more difficult on less similar objects. Try to imagine the bird moving, and ignore its stone qualities.”

“ _Avifors_ ,” Lily cast. The statue shook just a bit, but nothing changed. Lily was pretty sure it wasn’t _supposed_ to shake, but McGonagall didn’t say anything.

“Come, now, give it another try. Picture the bird flying in your mind. Picture it breaking free of the stone, and soaring into the air.”

Lily had made no progress during that detention, much to both of their disappointment. McGonagall had made several hints that she was upset Lily excelled so much in the other head of house’s classes (ignoring that Lily was also miserable at Herbology, but there she at least had Neville to carry her through most of the work) but completely failed in her own. It made Lily feel utterly unlike a Gryffindor.

In Charms, Lily was a master. Even Hermione paled in comparison. It was the only class Lily could easily take. Everything was performed flawlessly, as if it was second nature. They had just finished up on the fire-making charm, _Incendio_ , and were rolling into the softening charm, _Spongify_. Lily’s fire charm had almost been _too_ successful, creating a burst of flame that had only been contained by Flitwick’s quick reaction time. She had never seen the Ravenclaw Head of House look so proud.

While the rest of the class practiced _Spongify_ , Flitwick had moved Hermione and Lily ahead to the repairing charm, which Hermione had apparently chosen to master over the summer, but had completely failed to mention before this point.

_“Reparo,”_ Lily said, fixing a vase that Neville had bounced his textbook into.

“Excellent, Miss Potter, I was very fond of that,” Flitwick said. “And you, too, Miss Granger, don’t think I didn’t see you fix Mr. Weasley’s desk. Take five points for Gryffindor, the both of you.”

The Ravenclaws had grumbled at that, clearly still upset over what Ron had said after the Holiday. Lily kind of wished she had been sorted into Ravenclaw, instead of Gryffindor. Flitwick let her get away with a lot more than McGonagall did.

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Quirrell had skipped the Curse of the Bogies ( _Mucus ad Nauseum_ ) at the request of Madame Pomfrey, who had quite enough sick students to deal with already. Lily and Hermione were disappointed, having already practiced the spell with Ron and Neville, who had later used it as an excuse to skip classes. Lily and Hermione had been wroth at that; the boys rarely managed to fool them. Instead, they practiced the Knockback Jinx and the Smokescreen Spell, while Professor Quirrell supposedly supervised to make sure nobody was injured.

“ _Fumos_ ,” Lily said on the practice mat, making it harder for Hermione to see. The girl seemed to panic in practical application of defensive and offensive spells. Lily was pretty sure she just didn’t want to hurt anybody.

“ _Flipendo,”_ Hermione tried, attempting to knock Lily off her feet. She missed, unfortunately, and Lily returned fire, proving she had no such qualms.

The only spell they learned in Herbology was _Diffindo,_ the severing charm. Lily thought it could be quite useful if used in unique situations, but they had unfortunately only used it to trim plants. At least Neville had been excited; she had never seen somebody so glad to be trimming leaves off of trees.

“Remember,” Professor Sprout said as they all trimmed their bushes, “ _Diffindo_ has a lot of practical uses in Herbology, but so does _Incendio_. We won’t be covering that in here, I know you lot have already learned it in Charms, but just keep it in mind. And don’t go trying it in here without permission, can’t have you burning down all the hard work you’ve put in the past year.”

They didn’t learn any spells in Potions. In fact, they never took out their wands at all, fulfilling Snape’s promise from the first day of class. All they covered was how to make the forgetfulness potion, Wiggenweld potion, herbicide potion, and the Pompion potion (a vial of which Lily had snuck into George’s pumpkin juice one morning, much to the amusement of Fred).

“Excellent work as usual, Miss Potter,” Snape said as he peaked into their cauldron. “Full marks today, although I cannot say the same for Mr. Weasley and Mr. Longbottom. This is the worst sludge the two of you have managed to produce yet. A detention is in order for the both of you, I think, since you’re obviously too incompetent to follow simple instructions.” Snape walked away, leaving Ron fuming and Neville terrified of having to spend an extra session with Snape. 

Snape no longer avoided Lily’s table, having gotten over whatever block he had before. Although, he did still seem to ignore Hermione’s presence. Lily tried to let her do most of the work in an attempt to get Snape to compliment her friend, but he kept attributing all their success to just her, much to Hermione’s understandable frustration. Lily got her practice in by helping Ron and Neville, although it wasn’t much good whenever they’d get distracted or just flat out ignore what she was telling them.

The rest of the classes were business as usual. Astronomy kept them up late one night per week, charting the night sky as it appeared through their telescope. History of Magic was a slog to sit through, but Lily had no choice but to pay attention. Her grade in the class had already slipped too far, and she didn’t need another thing for Professor McGonagall to be disappointed about.

Lily had been so busy that she had even skipped the last two Quidditch matches to get more work done. Hermione had joined her, but Neville and Ron had looked offended at the mere idea.

“Skip Quidditch,” Ron had scoffed, “Might as well give up on life, then.” Lily didn’t see why it mattered if she went or not. Gryffindor was now in a solid last place, McLaggen having failed to catch the snitch in their last game, causing them to lose by nearly 300 points. Wood had been seen crying in the common room after that loss.

Lily had thought about sneaking out the few nights she had free time to look for the mirror again, but hadn’t wanted to risk McGonagall’s wrath any further. Without the cloak, getting caught was inevitable. Besides, Dumbledore had warned her not to go looking for it, although she would have ignored that if it was still an option. She had a pretty good idea of where it was, but unfortunately, said idea involved a three-headed dog.

By the time they reached the Easter holidays, Lily felt like she was drowning. She spent all her free time in the library with Hermione, trying to figure out how Transfiguration worked between the bouts of homework the other classes unloaded onto her. Ron and Neville had taken to joining them, trying to keep their own ships afloat. They both desperately needed help in Potions, but their Charms needed a lot of work as well. The only thing Neville was for sure passing was Herbology, and he was now getting daily letters from Gran threatening all sorts of things if he failed even one subject.

“I’ll never remember this,” Ron burst out one day, setting down his quill and staring longingly out the Library window. Lily was half tempted to join him, but as she was also receiving Gran letters over the quality of her Transfiguration work, she wasn’t quite yet ready to give into despair.

“Focus, Ron, we only have ten weeks left,” Hermione said, adding to Lily’s sense of urgency.

“What’s the point? Snape’s likely to fail us no matter what we do.” Ron was clearly still angry over the last detention. Lily thought it had been quite necessary, the quality of their work had improved dramatically afterwards. She only wished her own detentions were as effective.

“And McGonagall is going to kill me if I fail her class,” Lily said, “So let’s just keep working.”

“I don’t understand what you’re doing wrong,” Ron said, picking his quill back up. “I thought Transfiguration has been pretty easy, all things considered.”

“That’s only because I’ve been helping you, Ron,” Hermione said, scratching out something on the essay she had been writing. “You were failing, too, in November.”

“Yeah, well, now I’m practically a master.”

“Then tutor me,” Lily said.

“I think that’s a little beyond him, master or no,” Neville said, showing a rare emergence of courage. That was quickly stamped out by the look Lily gave him.

“What happened to Fred and George? I thought they were teaching you.” Ron was clearly now looking for any excuse to not be working.

“They’ve been busy,” Lily replied, “Between Quidditch and their own classwork, they’ve had even less time than we have.” Truth be told, they _had_ tried teaching Lily, but had quickly given it up for a bad job.

“Why is Hagrid here?” Ron suddenly asked. That caused everyone to look in the direction he was facing. Sure enough, there was Hagrid, quickly tucking a book back in place once he saw the four first years staring at him. “Oi, Hagrid,” Ron called out, getting a sharp glare from Madame Pince that he failed to notice. “What are you doing in the library?”

“Jus’ lookin’,” he said in a shifty voice as he shuffled over. “An’ what’re you lot up ter? Yer not still lookin’ into Fluffy, are yeh?”

“We found out about the Philosopher’s Stone ages ago, Hagrid,” Lily said.

“ _Shhhhhhhhhhh!”_ Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anybody was listening. “Don’ go shoutin’ about it, now, students aren’ supposed to know.”

“Well, we’re a little beyond that now, aren’t we?” Ron asked. “What else is guarding the stone anyway? We had some theories, but-“

“SHHHHHHHHHHHH!” said Hagrid again. “Listen, if yeh wanna talk ‘bout it that badly, jus’ come down to me hut later. I’m not promisin’ I’ll tell yeh anythin’, mind, but just keep yer mouth shut about it when yer in the castle, right’? They’ll think I’ve told yeh-“

“See you later, then,” Ron quit in rudely, causing Hagrid to shuffle off. “I’m gonna go see what he was looking at,” Ron said after Hagrid had fully left the room. He set off, the others returning to their studies.

Ron came back with a stack of books, which he set on the table. “Dragons!” he said. “Hagrid was looking at dragons! Look at all of these, _Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper’s Guide._ ”

“Why is Hagrid looking up dragons?” Hermione asked, frowning.

“Why don’t we go ask him?” Ron said, already walking off, having found a new mystery to keep his interest.

The others joined him at Hagrid’s Hut an hour later, having reached a satisfying stopping point with their workload. Well, Neville and Hermione had, anyway. Lily was still reading through her Transfiguration notes as they walked down the grounds, grumbling about how hard her life was.

“Who’s there?” Hagrid barked through the door after Hermione knocked.

“You know who it is, Hagrid,” they heard Ron say.

Hagrid wrenched the door open, waving the trio inside. It was incredibly hot inside Hagrid’s hut, even for such a warm day. He had the blinds shut for whatever reason, so the room was also quite dark. Lily took the seat in the far corner, trying to get through her notes. She was thankful her eyesight was quite good. It had carried her through her lockdowns at the Dursleys, and was now carrying her at Hagrid’s.

“Get this,” Ron started once everyone was seated, “I got Hagrid to say what else was guarding the stone.”

“Well, go on, share it with everyone, why don’t yeh?” Hagrid said, waving his hand in defeat. He got up to pour tea for everyone. Just like Lily had feared, Gran had managed to knock her down to zero sugars. She had threatened to send another Howler if she hadn’t.

“Absolutely, Hagrid. Anyway, He wouldn’t clarify what each person did, but he said McGonagall, Flitwick, Dumbledore, Quirrell, and Snape all contributed something. Snape!”

“Not more a this,” Hagrid grumbled. “Professor Snape isn’ after the stone, Ron, he’s helpin’ to guard the thing!”

“What if that’s just a cover?” Lily suggested from her corner, still suspicious of Quirrell. She hadn’t shared that information as of yet. She had decided to during the Christmas break, she had just been waiting for Neville to come back. Then, she had been too busy working and it had slipped her mind. Now just seemed like a bad time to bring it up. Not that anyone else would have believed Quirrell was capable of it. Besides, Hagrid’s argument of Snape trying to protect the stone worked just as well for Quirrell, and everybody trusted him far more than they did Snape.

“Hagrid,” Neville said, fear in his voice. “What’s that?”

“Hagrid, you didn’t!” Hermione said.

Lily looked up, curious, seeing Neville pointing at the fireplace. She glanced at it, immediately realizing why Hagrid had been in the library.

He had obtained a dragon egg, it seemed. The large, black egg was sitting in an equally as large pot, cooking over the fire. The sauna-like temperatures in the room suddenly made a lot more sense.

“Hagrid, where did you get it?” Ron asked.

“Won it. Went down to the pub las’ night, won it in a game a cards. Fella seemed right glad to get ridda it, he did.” Hagrid did his best to look as if he wasn’t currently breaking several laws. Lily had just finished an essay a month ago on all the various treaties that forbade private dragon breeding.

“Hagrid, what are you going to do with it when it hatches?” Hermione asked, biting her lip.

“Well, that’s why I was in the library, wasn’ I? Had ta find out what ter feed it, didn’t I?”

“But Hagrid,” Ron said, “Dragons can be really dangerous! You should see the burns Charlie got in Romania! And, besides, it’s illegal.”

“Well, I don’ see the harm in it. It’ll jus’ be a wee one.”

“And what are you going to do once it isn’t so wee? Dragons grow really quickly, Hagrid.”

“Well, I ‘spose I’ll figure tha’ out when I get there, won’ I?”

“Hagrid,” Hermione said anxiously, “You live in a _wooden house_.”

Things didn’t get any better over the next few days. For some reason, Hagrid kept expecting their help to make sure the egg was well cared for, and Lily found herself studying in his hut more and more. She had gotten some points deducted after turning in a sweat stained essay to McGonagall, who had made her rewrite the entire thing for that week’s detention before she could even attempt the _Avifors_ spell again.

Ron seemed to be the only one excited for the egg to hatch, while Lily was the only one who was indifferent. Hermione and Neville were constantly trying to talk Hagrid out of keeping the egg.

“I just don’t understand why he _wants_ it,” Hermione said one night after they had finally returned to the common room.

“Who wouldn’t want one? It’s a dragon, Hermione.” Ron had completely gotten over any worries he had had before. Now, he just wanted to see the dragon.

“You won’t be saying that once it outgrows Hagrid’s hut,” Neville said.

“Guys, can we _please_ focus on helping me get this spell?” Lily asked. They were all _supposed_ to be helping her transmute things into birds, but so far all they had done was demonstrate that they could do it themselves and then spend the whole hour talking about nothing but the dragon again.

“Lily,” Ron said, rolling his eyes, “At this point, I think your best option is just to give up and hope McGonagall doesn’t put it on the exam.”

“I hate to say it, Lily, but Ron might be right,” Hermione said. “This spell might just be beyond you.”

“I can’t just give up,” Lily said, shaking her head. “If I don’t get this, it puts me way behind, and then how am I going to keep up next year?”

“Maybe Transfiguration just isn’t for you,” Neville said. “If it makes you feel better, my odds of passing Potions are just as good as yours for Transfiguration.”

“That’s not true, Neville,” Ron said, “Lily and Hermione got your grades up high enough to where you don’t _need_ to pass the exam to continue on. Lily, on the other hand, is entirely relying on it.”

“What if I practiced an illusion charm instead?” Lily suggested. “There was one for faking birds in the book Hermione gave me. Do you think McGonagall would notice?”

“Absolutely,” the other three said at once.

“But she might be impressed enough to pass you anyway,” Ron offered as a last second pick-me-up. “I mean, I doubt anybody has ever tried faking it to pass her class before. Not even Fred and George are that stupid.”

“I think it really might be your best option, Lily,” Hermione said, nodding along with Ron’s suggestion.

“It’s not like you to agree to somebody cheating, Hermione,” Neville said.

“Well, normally I’d be entirely against it, but I’m not sure if Lily can pass otherwise, and I’d hate her having to repeat a year more than I do the idea of her having to cheat to pass.”

“I wonder if you have to be resorted if you fail the first year?” Ron asked, scratching his nose. “Maybe this time you’ll get Hufflepuff, that’d be a laugh.”

“I think they just don’t let you come back if you do,” Neville said, which was very helpful, really.

“We’re in agreement, then?” Ron looked around, and Hermione and Neville nodded. “Well, looks like it’s cheating after all, Lily.”

“Well, it’s nice to know you all think so highly of me,” Lily said, standing up. “I think I’ll just go find McGonagall, maybe volunteer myself for an extra detention, since I’m clearly so helpless.”

“Oh, come on,” Ron said, “ _You_ were the one who suggested it!”

Lily was heading to the door, still having an hour before curfew began. “It was supposed to be a _joke_. I wouldn’t have said it if I knew you’d all think it was the best idea I’ve ever had.”

“Lily, please come back, I’ll help you practice!” Hermione offered. Lily didn’t take said offer, though, she was already exiting the common room.

Three hours later, Lily returned (escorted by McGonagall so she wouldn’t get in any further trouble) having made absolutely no progress on the spell. She clearly had some sort of mental block when it came to Transfiguration, and everybody was incapable of helping her through it. No, all she could do was just keep trying and hope she figured it out before exams rolled around. She wished she had realized how bad she was back in the first semester, before she had so much other work to keep up with. Back then she just thought she was average, despite all the warning signs being there.

She went up the common room, ignoring the gang calling for her, as they hadn’t bothered to apologize.

A week later, with still no apology, and two days after little Norbert had finally hatched from the dragon egg, Lily still hadn’t made any progress, although she had looked up that charm out of desperation. It was, unfortunately, currently beyond her. She thought she could still get it in time if she did nothing but practice it until the exams, but then she would have to let her other courses slide too. If she just still had the cloak, she could have snuck out to an empty classroom at night for extra hours of training, but that idea was right out. As the months wore on, her Christmas adventure looked like more and more of a huge mistake, even if it had taught her a cool new spell. If the mirror hadn’t been taken away, she still would have considered it a win.

Finally, out of ideas, Lily decided on writing a letter to Mrs. Weasley. She seemed nice enough, and she _had_ offered to help Lily with anything she needed. She didn’t know how much help the woman would actually be, granted, but she was quickly running out of time. Exams were now only a few weeks away. She was supposed to head down to Hagrid’s to meet the others, but she grabbed a quill and a scroll and settled on getting this done while she still had a chance.

Dear Mrs. Weasley,

I’m sorry I haven’t written more, but I’ve been very busy keeping up with classes. Some of the material has been extremely difficult, especially now that we’re done with the basics. Transfiguration, especially, has been a huge issue for me.

To be quite frank, I just don’t know what to do about it. I’ve been doing nothing but practicing since Christmas, but I just can’t get it to work. It took me months just to turn a needle into a matchstick, and everybody else had managed that way back in the first semester. I honestly think something may be wrong with me.

I don’t know if you can help at all, but I’m at my last rope. If I don’t figure it out soon, I’m going to fail, and they’re going to keep me behind a year. If there’s anything at all you can do for me, I would do anything for the help.

Please say hi to Ginny for me, she sent me a rather flattering letter a few weeks ago and I forgot to write back amidst all that’s been going on. See you in the summer!

Much Love,

Lily Potter

Lily read back over her handiwork as she went up to the Owlery, hoping it didn’t come off as too desperate. She didn’t have too much time to waste, as she was expected to be at Hagrid’s Hut soon to help out with the dragon (despite her best attempts to refuse). She quickly tied the letter to Hedwig’s leg and sent the owl off. She hoped Hermione wouldn’t need the owl anytime soon, but the girl _had_ promised that Lily didn’t need to ask permission. She still would have, but Hermione had already gone off to Hagrid’s, and the letter was a little too spur of the moment.

Soon enough, Lily was sitting in Hagrid’s sweltering hut with the rest of them, utterly miserable. She could no longer bring any notes with her to look over, Norbert had set her last set on fire when he sneezed. If Hermione hadn’t been such a meticulous note taker herself, Lily would have given up right there.

“Oi, Lily, you wanna help us feed the thing?” Ron asked. He had been far less excited about the dragon now that it had hatched, and considered it all to be rather annoying now. He had even joined in on trying to think of ways to get rid of the thing, although all his ideas consisted of dropping it in Snape’s office and letting him deal with it.

Lily sighed, getting up from her corner. She may not be studying anymore, but she still didn’t want anything to do with the dragon. Lily filled a mug from the bucket, containing a mixture of brandy and chicken blood. The sight and smell always made her gag, and was by far her least favorite part of coming to Hagrid’s now. She wished she had never complained about his rock cakes, they had paled in comparison to this new horror.

Lily moved the mug toward Norbert’s mouth, who was cooing affectionately. Then, the bastard bit her hand, snarling.

Lily screamed, quickly pulling it back, tears filling her eyes on instinct. Neville fell off his chair, practically fainting in fright.

“Bad Norbert!” Hagrid said, giving the dragon a quick smack on the head. He then tossed Lily a roll of linen from his cabinet.

“That is it, Hagrid,” Lily yelled, fed up and in pain. “The dragon _has to go._ ”

“But, Lily, he’s got nowhere to go! I can’ just leave him somewheres, he’ll die withou’ me, he will!”

“I don’t care, Hagrid, either it goes, or I’m never coming back here!” Lily thought she had already been entirely too patient, and she was done fooling around.

Hagrid stayed quiet, seemingly weighing the pros and cons of keeping Norbert over Lily. He frowned, finally making up his mind. “Fine, then, but where does he go? I can’ jus’ leave him in the forest.”

“Yeah, he’d probably burn it down,” Ron said, kicking at Neville to see if he was okay. Neville groaned, signaling that he still had life in him.

“Charlie!” Hermione said suddenly, much to everybody’s confusion.  
“Great, now you’ve lost it, too. I’m Ron, not Charlie, and you’ve never even met him!”

“No, Ron, your brother, Charlie! The one who raises dragons?”

Ron suddenly perked up. “Oh, yeah! We’ll just write to Charlie; he’ll take the thing.” Hagrid sniffed, taking offense to Ron calling his precious baby a ‘thing.’

“Great!” Hermione said. “You write the letter, and I’ll go get Hedwig.”

Lily frowned as she was bound her hand. “Err, about that, Hermione. I may have just sent off a letter to Ron’s mum.” Hermione briefly looked taken aback.

“What are you writing to her for?” Ron asked, butting in.

“That’s fine, Lily, I’ll just borrow a school owl.” Hermione didn’t sound like she considered it okay. Lily briefly considered apologizing, but as she still hadn’t received one from everybody doubting her, she let the moment pass.

“Hagrid, Norbert isn’t venomous, is he?” Lily asked, sniffing at her hand. She walked to the door, deciding that now was a good time to leave. She had had enough with pretty much every person in this room, and she just wanted to get some work done.

“I dunno. ‘Spose we’ll find out.”

Lily left, thinking that was a completely unacceptable answer, and as she exited the hut, she noticed Malfoy running across the grounds. She looked at the window, seeing that she had forgotten to pull the curtains just this once. She almost went back to tell them all, but as she was currently very mad at Hagrid, and they were soon getting rid of the dragon anyway, she decided studying was more important.

Norbert did seem to have some sort of venom, unfortunately. Lily’s hand had been slowly growing more painful, and was now a nasty shade of green. She didn’t think she could put off visiting Madame Pomfrey for much longer, if she wanted to keep the thing. She had already waited a few days, while they were all expecting Charlie’s letter to return. Hedwig had come back the day after Lily borrowed her (without a reply, to Lily’s frustration) so they had sent her off to Romania after all.

“You just go to the Hospital Wing,” Hermione said. “Neville and I will take Norbert to the dragon.” Charlie had responded _very_ quickly. He had sent them an incredible looking hawk in response, and it had made it to the castle way before Hedwig had. He had promised to have his friends meet them on the Astronomy tower to pick up Norbert at midnight, as long as they could get it to them. He didn’t want them getting caught with an illegal dragon.

“Are you sure?” Lily asked, biting her lip. “What if you get caught? If I still had the cloak, it wouldn’t be an issue, but that’s a _long_ way to go without it.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Ron said. He was still grumpy that he hadn’t been chosen to go, but Lily thought he had gotten the best deal out of the four of them. He got to sleep, while Hermione and Neville had to carry a vicious monster through the castle, and Lily had to go to the hospital. “I bet if we asked Fred and George for a distraction, they’d help out, as long as they got to see the dragon first.”

“You better get going, then,” Lily said, as she went off to the Hospital Wing. She wanted to say more, but her hand was _really_ starting to hurt, and she wanted to get it taken care of as soon as possible. She figured she’d see them in the morning. Hermione would probably wait for Lily outside the Hospital Wing.

Madame Pomfrey hadn’t been very happy about Lily’s bite wound. In fact, she had been absolutely livid that Lily hadn’t come to her immediately. She only got madder when Lily refused to tell her what it came from, going so far as threatening to let it rot if she didn’t fess up. Fortunately for Lily, she was a bad bluffer, as she would never let a sick or injured person suffer. Lily had almost decided to give up the hand, rather than admit Hagrid was keeping a dragon in his hut. She might have been mad at her friends, but she didn’t want them to get arrested.

Madame Pomfrey did still require that Lily take a sleeping draught and stay over the night, but that seemed a fair trade. Besides, she didn’t think she could sleep naturally without it, not with Hermione and Ron sneaking through the halls. As she drifted off to sleep, she suddenly realized that she hadn’t said anything at all about Malfoy, but it was way too late to do so now.

She awoke the next morning, her hand completely normal aside from a scar left by the bite mark. She hoped it wasn’t too noticeable, she already had one scar that she couldn’t stand people looking at.

Madame Pomfrey had her leave as soon as she verified that she was well. Hermione wasn’t outside the Hospital Wing, she was disappointed to find out. Lily went down to breakfast, knowing that Hermione, at the very least, would be waiting for her there.

As she passed the points hourglasses in the Entrance Hall, she couldn’t help but notice that Gryffindor was now down 100 points. She didn’t take that as a good sign. Slytherin was also down 50 points, throwing them even further into last place.

Sure enough, she was soon consoling a terrified Neville and Hermione, who had been caught by Filch as they came down from the Astronomy Tower.

“It was Malfoy,” Hermione said while Lily desperately tried to avoid meeting her eyes. “He was there waiting for us, and if he hadn’t made such a racket about it, we would have gotten out of there before Filch could arrive.”

“I thought Fred and George were running decoy maneuvers?” Lily asked, ashamed that it was her fault they had been caught. She wouldn’t tell them that, of course, but she still felt quite bad. Lily suddenly worried that she wasn’t a very good friend. Then she remembered that not only were they refusing to help her with her Transfiguration work, but they had forced her to take care a of a venomous dragon that had sent her to the Hospital Wing, and that made her feel quite a bit better.

“They were,” Neville grumbled, “But they weren’t willing to actually go out at night, so once their traps had all been set off, there was nothing left to distract the professors.” Lily didn’t know if she liked the sound of the twins placing traps, but she figured they wouldn’t actually do anything dangerous.

“At least Malfoy got a detention, too,” Hermione said.

“Not to mention that he threw Slytherin even further into last place,” Ron added between bites of food. “I can’t imagine that made him very popular.”

Lily looked over at the Slytherin table. Malfoy was sitting alone, picking at his food with a grumpy expression. Even Crabbe and Goyle were avoiding him, and they had been inseparable before.

Lily thought he had quite deserved it, and decided to focus on eating more eggs instead.


	16. A Breakthrough

The rest of Gryffindor was, understandably, upset with Neville and Hermione. They had suddenly gone from the clear winners of the house cup to third place (still managing to stay ahead of Slytherin, who had completely given up after the first Quidditch match, much to the disappointment of Professor Snape, who had been significantly more harsh to his own students after the match).

Neville was taking it the hardest. Gran had sent him another Howler as soon as she had found out. That one had screamed at the boy for a good ten minutes. Lily was now very thankful that Professor McGonagall hadn’t written home about her own nightly excursion.

Ron was having the best time of the group. He wasn’t too upset about the house points, joking that they still had six years to make up for it (even though that wouldn’t help the current graduating class, who hadn’t won a single house cup during their entire stay at Hogwarts). He thought the situation was actually pretty funny. Nobody would have expected the rules abiding Hermione to do anything even slightly naughty, and here she was getting caught well after curfew leaving an empty tower with a boy she was often seen with.

Thankfully, the rumors didn’t last too long, for Malfoy had also been caught after hours. He was claiming to anybody that would listen that the two had actually been carrying a dragon to the tower, and that was far more interesting of a tale than two children sneaking off in the middle of the night for who knows what. Fred and George did their best to make sure everybody heard that over the other, thinking it would make Hermione and Neville seem more fearsome.

“Nobody will mess with a known dragon slayer,” Fred had joked, ignoring that the story in no way mentioned Hermione actually killing a dragon. Lily did her best to spread that rumor as well, even going so far as buying Hermione some new dragonhide gloves via Hedwig. She made sure to leave those out where Lavender could see them. She didn’t really have an answer as to _why_ she did it, she just found it amusing to do so, which gave her the idea that maybe Fred and George were rubbing off on her after all. She’d make sure to not mention that to Mrs. Weasley, if she ever wrote back.

Unfortunately for Lily, they had done their little adventure on a Friday, which meant that Professor McGonagall had still been livid when she arrived for her weekly detention on Saturday. The woman had been completely distracted, ruining any chances of Lily catching up to the rest of the class.

“You first years are going to be the death of me,” she had said. “I would have expected this from that Weasley boy, his brothers have given me endless troubles, but somehow he is the most well-behaved of you four!” Lily didn’t mention that Ron had been disappointed to not be included in the dragon carrying adventure, nor that the twins were responsible for the multitude of traps that kept her and the rest of the staff busy that night.

“To be fair, Professor, you seem to be the only member of staff that I give any trouble to.” Lily didn’t know why she said it, but she instantly regretted it. Perhaps she was becoming too comfortable around McGonagall through sheer exposure. The woman’s intimidation factor had dropped by a significant amount.

“That does not remotely make me feel better, Miss Potter. Perhaps you should save your lip for after you’re passing Transfiguration, yes?” McGonagall always know how to hit where it hurts. Lily’s poor marks were a constant touchy subject for the both of them.

“I’m trying, Professor, I really am, I’ve been spending every waking moment either reading the textbook, practicing, or going back over my notes, but I just don’t get it!” Lily pulled at her tie, earning a quick swat on the hand by McGonagall, who had been trying to break her of the habit.

“Perhaps your issue is that you’ve been trying too hard, then,” Professor McGonagall said, trying to force her mood to change. “Take the week off from working on Transfiguration. I will excuse you from the week’s assignments. Relax your mind, Potter, and stop dwelling on it so much. We’ll give it another go two weeks from now.”

Lily bit her lip. Her hand reached for her neckline on instinct, earning another swift smack from McGonagall. “Does that mean no detention next week, Professor?”

“Oh heavens, no. I shall arrange something else for you. Perhaps a joint detention with your friends. Or perhaps I’ll let Mr. Filch take you on a little adventure. That ought to cure you of your disobedience, I think. Good day, Miss Potter.” McGonagall took a seat at her desk, grabbing a paper from the stack she still needed to grade.

Lily didn’t like how she had said the word “adventure,” but as she had been officially dismissed, she left without further commenting on it. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, she didn’t have to wait long to find out what the professor had meant, as Lily, Hermione, and Neville were all stopped by McGonagall as they had been trying to enter the Great Hall for breakfast the next day. Ron had been sent ahead by the older woman, and the three followed the professor back to her office.

When they arrived, they found Malfoy already sitting there, not wearing his aura of smugness for once in his life. Lily was forced to take the seat next to him, as Neville and Hermione had quickly snatched up the other two. She grumbled as she sat down, not at all pleased.

McGonagall took her seat across from the four first years. She looked at all of them disapprovingly. Lily reached for her tie, then quickly stopped once she saw McGonagall’s eyes narrow. “Well, it’s time to discuss your detentions.”

“Why is Potter here?” Malfoy asked. Lily had to bite back a retort. She didn’t think the professor would appreciate it; she was looking far more serious now that Lily was in a group situation. Lily thought she was just drumming it up to impress the other three, who had yet to serve a detention with the Transfiguration professor.

“Mr. Malfoy, you shall speak only when addressed. Miss Potter is here because she has already been serving detentions with me, and will be joining you three during yours.”

“And what will we be doing?” Malfoy asked again. Lily once again had to bite back a retort. It was harder that time, since Malfoy was being even more of an idiot than usual. Snape may have let him get away with it, but McGonagall didn’t even show leniency to her own house, and Malfoy definitely wasn’t a Gryffindor.

“Five points from Slytherin,” McGonagall said, as if it was still a punishment. At the very least, it managed to have the desired effect on Hermione and Neville, who were not willing to make their own house hate them anymore than they already did. Lily just did her best to fake it. She’d gained more for the house than she’d lost, and was still sure she’d come out positive by the end of the year. “You will be assisting Hagrid. That is all you need to know for now. Meet this Saturday evening in the Entrance Hall at 10 sharp.”

“Ten?” Malfoy said, sneering. “Isn’t this supposed to be a punishment for sneaking out past curfew? Why are-“

“That’ll be another ten points, Mr. Malfoy, and I think another detention as well. You will arrive in the Entrance Hall no later than 10. You are dismissed.” McGonagall put on her reading glasses and started going through her stack of papers. Lily and the others got up, Malfoy running ahead, going to the dungeons. The others caught up to Ron for breakfast. The boy was only halfway done with his meal, and Lily was eager to catch up.

“I wonder what Hagrid needs,” Ron asked between mouthfuls.

“We could always ask him,” Neville said. Neville didn’t eat anything; his appetite clearly being affected by the stress of detention. Hermione joined him in his fast. Lily piled her plate higher than Ron’s.

“We’ll find out tomorrow night anyway, what’s it matter?” Lily asked. She was still mad about Norbert biting her. She had a feeling the others would want to satisfy their curiosity by visiting, but if they did, she wouldn’t be joining them. She had far too much work to get done, anyway.

“Lily’s right,” Hermione said, to Lily’s surprise. Perhaps she could sense that Lily was still upset. She seemed to have a knack for guessing at Lily’s mood lately. “Besides, we have too much work to get through today. We’ll never be able to squeeze in a visit to Hagrid’s.” Lily sighed. She should have figured that Hermione had also just wanted to get some work done. The girl didn’t realize that she already knew everything, and there was no further need for studying on her part.

“Mail’s here,” Ron said, looking up. Lily continued eating, not bothering to look up. She very rarely received mail. “Oh, no, what’s Errol doing here?”

“Who’s Errol?” Lily asked, not looking up. She soon found out, when an ancient barn owl slammed into the table in front of them. Hermione and Lily both screamed, startled.

“That’s Errol,” Ron said, poking the owl. Lily recognized the owl now that it had landed. It had carried Ginny’s letter earlier in the year, although it hadn’t made such a fool of itself before.

“Is it dead?” Hermione asked, biting her lip. Lily had to stop herself from doing the same. Ron already got onto them for being so similar.

“No, he’s just stunned,” he said, taking a thick envelope from the owl’s leg. The owl also had a package attached, which was presumably why it was so tired. “He’ll be better once he gets some rest. Here, Lily it’s for you.” Ron handed the envelope over, then unhooked the tin Errol had been carrying. He opened it, then started eating the contents once he saw the fudge. Lily briefly had the thought that the fudge wasn’t meant for him, but she decided to let him have it. She was sure she’d get another opportunity eventually, and Ron was already sore that Lily had been writing to his family.

Lily tucked the envelope into her bag, excited to read it later. She didn’t want to read it in the Great Hall where anybody could snatch it from her, or where Ron could ask questions. She had the feeling he only hadn’t gotten snappy because he thought the fudge had been for him.

The rest of the day was filled with Charms and Transfiguration and Herbology. Every class was now in full review mode, forcing the students to prepare fully for the upcoming exams. Lily was still worried about Herbology, but Transfiguration was the real issue. She hoped that would soon be solved. Herbology, at the very least, she could pass, even if she had to copy Neville to do it. The written portion shouldn’t be an issue; Lily already had every definition memorized.

Lily took her usual seat at the library, right across from Hermione. Neville and Ron skipped out today, deciding to get some rest in the common room. Neville seemed to be far more comfortable following Ron around. Lily was just happy he had a good friend; she had been a bit neglectful, with how busy she had been.

Lily took out the letter first, intending to see what advice Mrs. Weasley had in store for her. It felt quite thick, Lily noticed, and when she opened it there were several pages inside. Flipping through, she saw it was actually split into two distinct letters, both in different handwriting. She started with the top, recognizing Mrs. Weasley’s scrawl.

Dear Lily,

It’s good to hear from you again, and I’m delighted to see that you actually came to me for advice! Feel free to write anytime, really, it doesn’t just have to be when you’re worried about something. I have to remind the boys to write home all the time, as well. Obviously, you’re not one of them, but I do so enjoy hearing from you anyway. I’d love to hear all about how your school experience is going, and I’ll be sure to drag it out of you over the summer if you don’t write back before then.

I gave Ginny your hello, and you should have seen the way that girl perked up, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so excited. She was happy to hear you had gotten her letter; she was afraid it had gotten lost in the mail. The girl looks up to you as a personal hero, I’m afraid., although I’m sure you’ve heard the same during your stay at Hogwarts. I imagine half the kids won’t leave you alone, hero that you are.

I do hope you’ll take care of her when she starts at Hogwarts next year, and, of course, over the summer as well. It’s her room you’ll be staying in, hopefully she doesn’t make you too uncomfortable. Neville will have to stay in Ron’s, Percy’s is too small for him and the twins are already cramped in their shared space.

I wrote to Hermione’s parents a few weeks ago, just to check in with them. I don’t believe she’ll be able to come for the summer. Please tell her sorry for me, I’m a little worried that I may have gotten her into a bit of trouble. They said something about her using up all their goodwill staying for Christmas when she was supposed to come home. I think it best if you write them a good apology yourself, matter of fact, Ron told me she only stayed because of you. That might bring some of the goodwill back, and we’d love to have her for the summer, too, although you’ll certainly have more space in Ginny’s room if she doesn’t.

But don’t let me boss you around, I already do that enough with Ron and the twins. Not to mention Ginny, who’s been a nightmare now that she’s the only kid left at home this year. Feels like she’s trying to make up for Fred and George being gone. We practically had to drag her off the Hogwarts Express before it left. She tried to hide in the luggage compartment, poor dear. Didn’t think we’d notice she’d gone.

Don’t let Ron eat the fudge I sent off with Errol, he’s already had more than his fair share. Percy wrote me after Christmas to tell me Ron had taken all of his fudge when he wasn’t looking. I thought about sending the boy a Howler, but Arthur pointed out how ridiculous it would be to receive one just for eating some fudge, so I just sent Percy another tin for New Year’s. This one was supposed to be yours, to make up for Ginny eating the last batch. I would have sent some sooner, but I’m afraid it slipped my mind.

Now, as for why you’ve written me, I’m afraid I can’t be of much help. I was never much good at Transfiguration myself, I’m afraid. I was more of a Charms girl, much like I’ve heard you are. If you ever need help with that, I’ll be sure to get back to you promptly. I’m sure you won’t, Ron said Flitwick constantly goes on about how gifted you are. Keep that up, and I’m sure you’ll make prefect, just like Percy and Bill. Assuming you can break this trouble making streak you’ve been on, that is. I’ve heard from Percy of all the detentions you’ve received. We’ll have to have a talk about that over the summer. Please don’t let Fred and George drag you any deeper, or I’ll have to start writing you Howlers too.

That being said, Arthur is quite adept at the subject, and I’ve asked him to write you as well. He said he should be able to get you straightened out in no time at all. He’s quite gifted at Transfiguration. Has to use it all the time at work. He works at the Ministry, in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department, if you haven’t heard from Ron. He has to fix things all the time, the poor dear.

Once again, feel free to write me anytime you like, I’d love to hear more. We’re all looking forward to seeing you soon. Just a few more weeks, and we can say hello at the station. Then, just a few more, and you’ll be here!

See you soon!

Much Love,

Molly

Lily set Mrs. Weasley’s letter down, feeling rather exhausted. She hadn’t thought the Weasley matriarch would write that much to a girl she hadn’t even met. She’d have to be careful writing to that one in the future. If she didn’t write at all, she as worried she’d receive a Howler instead, now that she thought their relationship appropriate enough to do so.

Lily looked up at Hermione. “Mrs. Weasley says ‘sorry.’”

“Hmm?” Hermione hummed. She looked up once she processed what Lily had said. “For what?”

“She said she wrote to your parents to try and get permission for you to come over the summer. Said she might have gotten you in a bit more trouble.”

“Lovely,” Hermione said, putting her head in her hands. “That’s just what I needed, honestly. I’m just lucky they haven’t heard about this detention yet, I’ll never hear the end of that one.”

Lily smiled, imagining Hermione getting a long scolding from her parents for the first time in her life. Lily was quite used to it, and considered anything the Hogwarts staff could throw at her a lighthearted disagreement compared to what the Dursleys used to say. Perhaps that was why she didn’t take anything as seriously as she should.

Lily picked up Mr. Weasley’s letter, thankful that it was shorter. She hoped it had more useful information in it than his wife’s had. Lily felt good that Mrs. Weasley’s letter had been full of love for a perfect stranger, but what she needed was help, and the matriarch had been unable to offer that.

Dear Lily,

I had thought of being more formal, but after seeing Molly’s, I decided not to. Don’t want to get in trouble, after all. I know she sent you a rather long one, so I’ll try to make this brief for your sake. I’m not sure how well it’s been explained to you, but hopefully I can help.

I’m told you’re brilliant at Charms, Molly’s told me Ron said so. Try thinking of it as a Charm, not as a Transfiguration. I know that seems a little at odds, and I’m sure McGonagall would crucify me for saying so, but that was what I told to Charlie when he was at school and that seemed to work for him. He now uses Transfiguration all the time in Romania.

If you don’t understand what I mean, I’ll try again: check your Charms book. All of these different kinds of magic are more connected than you’d think, and by cross refencing across the texts, you may find some workarounds or tips that aren’t in a specific book. It’s like how a lot of the Charms you’re leaning in the Charms class itself can be applied to Defense or Herbology. Sometimes you have to think outside the box to get the best results.

I’m told you’re friendly with the librarian, and I’m sure she actually would crucify me for saying so, but try recording your findings in the margins. All my books from my Hogwarts days are filled with notes, it was quite popular when I went to school, although I know it fell out soon after. I’m getting off topic, my point is that while you’re doing your research try to keep track of it all where it’d be relevant. If you find a tip in an Herbology book that would be really useful for a specific potion, then write it on the page _for_ that potion.

Unfortunately, that’s time consuming, so I know it won’t be much use to you right now, since you’re a bit short on weeks. Keep that in mind for the future, though.

For now, just try picturing _how_ the object would transform in your mind. Ignore the diagrams, ignore the instructions, and ignore your notes. If you’re looking at a snuffbox, imagine how it would look as it morphed into a mouse. That always worked wonders for me. And make sure you get it all in one go. Taking it step by step is too time consuming, and more likely to fail overall.

Best of luck,

Arthur Weasley

Lily set the letter down, pulling out her Charms and Transfiguration textbooks. Mr. Weasley had said she wouldn’t have the time, but if she focused on just those two classes, she could just make it. It was her only hope. She needed to write a thank you to the two, for sure, but hoped they’d accept waiting until she saw them once the term was over. She really didn’t have the time to spare to write a couple of letters right now.

She found the section on wand movements and annunciation in the Charms book, and then opened her Transfiguration to the diagrams on snuffboxes to mice. She dipped her quill in her ink, and then put it to the paper.

“Lily,” Hermione asked, in shock, “What do you think you’re doing?” Lily kept her quill moving, sensing Hermione’s irritation.

“Trying out Mr. Weasley’s advice,” she replied, humming. She didn’t know why, but she’d had her own rendition of “Hoggy Warty Hogwarts” stuck in her head all day. She hoped they sang it every year, although it wouldn’t make sense if they didn’t, because then the new first years wouldn’t get to experience it.

“He told you to deface your books?”  
“More or less.” It wasn’t quite what he had said, but it got the essence of it.

“And you _listened_ to him?” Hermione was now pulling at her hair with both hands, freaking out. Lily glanced around, hoping Madame Pince wasn’t looking. They had been quite friendly, but if Hermione was acting this way, she was sure the librarian wouldn’t approve.

“Hermione, it was this, or cheating. I’m out of options.” Despite her friend’s optimism, Lily thought it was more likely to make McGonagall kick her out of Gryffindor than it was to earn a passing grade.

“But, Lily-“

“I’m not defacing them, Hermione, I’m taking notes and cross referencing. I’m just trying something new, that’s all. If it doesn’t work, I won’t do it next year.” Lily said that knowing full well she would do it next year. If it didn’t work this year, it was likely because of the time constraints, and not because the method itself was bad.

“But, Lily-“

“They’re my books, Hermione. It’s not like I’m going to scribble in the library books. I can do what I want with these.” Lily started packing up her things. “But if it bothers you that much, I’ll go find a nice, quiet classroom somewhere. Lord knows there’s enough empty ones in this school.”

“Lily, please,” Hermione said, trying to calm down. Lily thought she still looked rather frantic, and hoped some distance would set her mind at ease.

“It’s fine, Hermione. I think it might be a good idea anyway. I don’t want Madame Pince to see what I’m doing.”

Hermione looked around, biting her lip. “Okay,” she said at last. “I’ll see you in the common room later tonight, then?”

“Of course,” Lily said, waving goodbye as she left the library. She had to dodge Peeves as she went up the staircase; he was busy stuffing a suit of armor full of marshmallow fluff. Where he got all of it was anybody’s guess. Lily hated to think about how Filch would get it all cleaned out.

She went to where the Mirror of Erised had been before, still disappointed to see it was gone, just like every time she had gone back. The desk she had set up for herself last time was still in its place. She was nervous about leaving the door unlocked the first couple of times, but it was now fairly obvious that no one else came up here. She rarely saw anybody on this floor at all. She had seen a couple of sixth years coming out of a broom closet a few weeks ago, but they had hurried off once they saw Lily standing there.

She’d made several trips here, alone, ever since the holidays. She found that even without the mirror, being alone had its own set of calming virtues. Whenever the gang became too much for her, especially as the exams grew closer and she needed the extra study time, she’d retreat here with just her books to keep her company.

It had been her plan since she first discovered the mirror, but she had never gotten a chance to enact it. Dumbledore had taken it away before she had the chance. She had thought her parents would be happy to watch their kid study.

Lily unpacked her bag, pulling another couple of desks together next to the one already set out for the extra space. She set her Transfiguration book on the desk to the left, her Charms book on the desk to her right, and her quill, ink, and rolls of parchment on the center desk, where she then sat.

Hours later, Lily rubbed at her eyes. She had lost track of time while she worked, accidentally skipping dinner. She was sure that had unintentionally given Hermione a good deal of stress, assuming she hadn’t similarly lost track of time in the library. The ringing of the bell signaled that curfew was coming soon, and she knew she needed to head up soon.

She took out a spare snuffbox McGonagall had given her for practice (She had forced the girl back a unit since _Avifors_ was seemingly impossible), intending on trying out the fruits of her labor before she went off to the common room for some deserved relaxation. She didn’t expect much, but she was also still stuck in the same pessimistic attitude she’d had all semester.

Calling it a snuffbox wasn’t exactly fair. It was actually a mouse that had been turned _into_ a snuffbox, but since Lily hadn’t managed to do the reverse, it had been stuck in this form ever since. McGonagall had assured her that it wouldn’t need to eat or drink while in this state, or even be aware of its surrounding, but she had still been worried about him. McGonagall had hoped that would get her to learn the spell faster, but it hadn’t so far.

Lily pointed her wand at the snuffbox, hoping that’d be different now. She did her best to picture the snuffbox turning into the mouse, but was having issues with the diagrams still popping into her head. She imagined the snuffbox first turning gray, then sprouting a tail, then squishing down as it grew legs, and growing a long snout and pointed teeth.

“ _Musifors,_ ” she said, annunciating as carefully as she could. The snuffbox turned gray and sprouted a tail, for sure, but it stopped there. Lily was still ecstatic. It was the most she had gotten so far. She packed her things up as quickly as she could, then scooped the “mouse” into her hands, running for the common room. She was lucky to not run into any staff members, although Percy had tried to stop her, threatening to deduct some points. She had quickly lost him, as she was a much faster runner.

“Cornelius Agrippa,” she said once she reached the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open, and Lily rushed inside. She quickly spotted Hermione, who was sitting at a table with Ron and Neville, playing a game of exploding snap. Lily thought that didn’t seem very Hermione-like. She had expected the other girl to still be studying.

She walked up. “Look!” she said, thrusting the “mouse” forward.

“What is that?” Ron asked, frowning. “Looks like some old soap.”

“It’s a mouse!” Lily said, as if it was perfectly obvious. She held it closer to the trio, so they could get a better look. They were all frowning at it, now, Neville looking utterly confused.

“That’s a mouse?” Ron asked. “Where are it’s legs? I thought you said Weasley didn’t like rodents!”

“Weasley didn’t attack it,” Lily said, huffing. “I made it! I got the spell to work, it _was_ a snuffbox.”

Ron laughed, Hermione shooting a glare at him from across the table. “Of course it’s a mouse, Ron, don’t you see its snout?” she said, pointing at the poor thing.

“That’s its tail!” Lily said, causing Ron to laugh harder while Hermione blushed from embarrassment.

“Of course, how silly of me,” Hermione said, trying to recompose herself.

“Why’s it so stumpy?” Neville asked.

“Look, it was the best I could do, okay?” Lily said, pocketing the mouse, suddenly ashamed. She had been excited to show off her progress. She should have waited until she had a more impressive specimen.

“Well, it’s a great improvement from earlier today, Lily,” Hermione said. “I’m sure you’ll get it in no time.”

“Yeah, maybe the next one will be able to breath,” Ron said. “You want to play, Lily?” He gestured to the game before them. “We figured we were due a break. There’s only so much we can prepare for before exams hit. Even Hermione was starting to get a bit exhausted.”

“I can’t,” Lily said. “I’m gonna head up to bed, get some more practice in, I think. I’m really close, I can feel it.”

“Suit yourself,” Ron said, picking up a card from the table.

“I’ll be up in a bit to help,” Hermione said.

“I’ll be fine, Hermione,” Lily said, walking away. “You have some fun.”

Lily hauled her bag upstairs, disappointed in the reception. She settled on having a full mouse to show them at breakfast.


	17. Into the Woods

Lily barely made any progress by the time Saturday rolled around, but progress was indeed made. She had completely turned the snuffbox into a mouse, but she still couldn’t get it to work either way in one try. She wouldn’t get a chance to try _Avifors_ again until the next week, due to McGonagall’s restriction. She was already supposed to be taking a break, but she wanted to put Mr. Weasley’s advice to the test.

Saturday morning, Lily woke up, feeling refreshed, Hermione had already gotten up, as always, hours ago. Lily knew she’d find her downstairs. Lavender and Parvati were still fast asleep, and would be for a while longer. Weasley was once again sleeping with Lavender, who was snuggled up next to him. Lily might have found it cute, but she was stung by the betrayal. Lily tossed around too much for the cat, apparently, and he spent most of the night in someone else’s bed.

Hermione was not very lively when Lily arrived in the common room. She looked like she hadn’t slept at all. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her hair was even more untamed than usual.

“I’ve never had a detention before,” she said, biting her lip. “How does it work, Lily?”

“I don’t know,” Lily said, sitting down across from her. She took the snuffbox out of her pocket, intent on getting some more practice in. She kept switching it between a mouse and a box, which probably wasn’t very good for the mouse’s mental health.

“But you’ve served so many, how can you say that?”

“All of my detentions have been tutoring sessions, Hermione. _Musifors._ ” The snuffbox managed to turn gray and grow a head, but she still couldn’t get it in one go. The mouse-box was also _very_ frightened, and was making a good deal of noise. Lily figured she’d be in a right state as well if she suddenly found herself half transformed into a box.

‘The first one wasn’t!”

“I guess so,” Lily said, leaning back in her chair. ‘But that time I just graded papers all day. I have no idea what we’re supposed to be doing with Hagrid. _Musifors._ ” The box stretched and thinned, looking significantly more like a mouse. It now had a tail, but no legs. That only seemed to freak the poor thing out even more.

“ _Odorofors,_ ” Hermione said, pointing her own wand at the poor attempt of a mouse. It immediately turned back into the snuffbox, albeit a far more ornate one. Hermione somehow made the thing grow gems, which was way beyond what Lily was capable of.

Lily sniffed. “I wanted to do that.”

“You’re supposed to do it all in one go. The mouse freaking out is only going to make it harder for you to focus. Don’t think I didn’t hear that thing squeaking all night while you tortured it.”

“It wasn’t torture, it was magic!”

“It’s not supposed to _hurt_ them, you know.”

“I don’t think it was in pain, I think it was just scared. But maybe that’s why I’m no good at this, the screaming mouse _does_ always freak me out. _Musifors_.” This time she started with the back half of the mouse, so she didn’t have to listen to it freak out. She made everything but the head, and it started walking around, sightless. Lily didn’t know if that was better or worse than before.

“Hey, that was the best attempt so far!” Hermione said, feeling excited for her friend. “Maybe all your textbook graffiti is helping, after all.” She sniffed as she said that, clearly still disapproving.

“I just wish I had written the Weasleys earlier, if I had known this would help me sooner, I’d have so much more free time right now. And maybe McGonagall wouldn’t be making me go with you lot tonight.”

Hermione looked nervous again, remembering what day it was. Focusing on academics had briefly distracted her, and now Lily dragged her straight back into reality. “Oh, I wish it was earlier, just so we could get it over with. I can’t stand having to wait around all day, feeling nervous.”

“Then don’t. _Odorofors_.” The headless mouse transformed fully back into the box, although it was still gray, when it had once been green. “Why do they give us live animals to practice magic on? That seems a little evil, doesn’t it?”

“They don’t. All the Transfiguration mice were originally some other object. McGonagall prepares them for us before class.”

“I don’t know if that’s better or worse, Hermione.”

“The animated creatures don’t actually have thoughts and feelings. They don’t grow hungry, and they don’t actually feel pain. The spells just mimic the animal to the best of its ability.”

“Then why were you accusing me of torturing the poor thing?”

“Lily, you try waking up in the middle of the night to the sounds of a screaming mouse, and see if you don’t assume one is being actively mutilated.”

“ _Musifors._ ” The snuffbox turned fully into a mouse on the first attempt, to which Lily was ecstatic, bouncing in her seat. “Look, Hermione, I did it!”

“Good job, Lily. But it’s green now, when the box wasn’t even green the last time.”

Lily looked down, frowning when she noticed Hermione was right. “Well, still, that has to be an improvement. Surely that’s enough for a passing grade.”

“I’d agree with you, but its eyes are still wooden, too. Poor thing can’t see.” Hermione was staring directly into the mouse’s face, frowning. Lily suddenly realized that the creature wasn’t moving at all.

Lily poked the mouse with her wand. It pushed it, making a solid sound, while the figure didn’t so much as twitch. “Actually, Hermione, I think the whole thing is still wood. _Diffindo_.” The mouse split open, revealing that it was, in fact, made entirely of wood.

“Well, a mouse carving might get you more points than a green, blind one. Also, please don’t do that again. That would have gone very poorly if you had been wrong.” Hermione pointed her wand at the broken figure. “ _Reparo._ There you are, give it another go.”

“ _Odorofors_.” The carving changed back into a full, green snuffbox. Hermione clapped her hands, trying to show enthusiasm. Lily could tell her heart wasn’t fully in it. She was likely still thinking about their upcoming detention.

Neville joined them after a couple of hours, followed by Ron another hour after that. Now that all three of them were there to judge her, Lily suddenly didn’t want to practice anymore. They spent the rest of their Saturday hanging around the lake, lazing under a tree.

“We should do this every day,” Ron said, stretching out.

“This is just a special occasion, Ronald,” Hermione said, leaning against Lily, who leaned back as well. They took up the middle, siting between the two boys. There was a cool breeze coming off of the lake today, and it felt very nice in the hot weather they were currently experiencing. It felt cool against Lily’s skin, and she realized she had been sweating. She wiped her forehead, enjoying the good company, while giving her scar a brief scratch.

“Yeah, Ron,” Lily said, “Neville and Hermione can’t focus on studying because they have their first detention. Otherwise we’d probably be stuck in the library.”

“That explains why you’re so relaxed,” Ron said, “It must just be business as usual for you.”

Lily laughed. “I was thinking the same thing, actually. It’s kind of nice to not be alone for once.”

“Then they should get in trouble more often,” Ron said. “I could get used to this.” Ron closed his eyes, intending on getting a nap. Scabbers crawled out of his pocket, laying on his chest to get some sun. Lily suddenly had a great idea, although she didn’t think she could pull it off.

Lily tossed her snuffbox in the air, right above Ron, quickly pointing her wand at it. She imagined the green box stretching into a mouse, turning from green to gray. “ _Musifors._ ”

The box turned gray, stretching into the shape of a mouse, and then landed on Ron’s face. He screamed, swiping at it, accidentally knocking off Scabbers in the process.

Everybody else laughed, Hermione included. Ron scowled at them all as he bent over to pick up Scabbers, who had laid prone on the ground, stunned. Lily had no idea where her mouse had gone. She didn’t think she’d ever see it again.

“Great, haha, very funny,” Ron said. “The one time you get the spell right, and you just have to use it at my expense, just had to have a go.”

“Oh, cheer up, Ron,” Hermione said, smiling. “At least this means Lily can join us next year.”

“She managed a mouse, Hermione, she still has to worry about the birds.” Ron laid back down, further away from the rest of the group.

“Actually, I think as long as she can pull off everything else, she’ll do well enough to at least pass the class. Even Neville still has trouble with _Avifors_.” Neville nodded, and Lily suddenly realized that he hadn’t said anything all day. She had chalked it up to nervousness at first, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that he talked far less than everybody else did.

“I can help you, Neville,” Lily offered. Ron and Hermione both scoffed, which earned them a glare from Lily. “I mean, we can help each other, Neville. It’ll be good practice.”

Neville looked at each of the other three. “I think I’ll be fine, Lily, but thank you.” Neville chose to look out at the lake.

“Hey, Neville,” Ron asked. “Did you ever find Trevor?”

“Trevor?” Hermione asked.

“His toad,” Lily said. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him since we left the station. What happened to him, Neville?”

Neville blushed. “I dunno. I never found him.”

“Neville, that’s awful!” Hermione said. “Lily, I knew we should have helped him look, but you said it’d be fine!” Lily did her best to not look at her, changing positions so she was no longer leaning on her.

“I’m sure Trevor is happier on the train, Hermione,” Ron said.

“Ron, there isn’t anything on the train for a toad to eat!”

“Trevor had a knack for escaping, Hermione,” Lily said. “I’m sure he got off the train just fine. Most likely, he’s chilling by a nice pond somewhere in the countryside.”

“I hope so,” Neville said, not taking his eyes off the lake.

Hermione bit her lip. “Still, shouldn’t we do something about it? Maybe if we asked Professor McGonagall-“

“Hermione, if we did that, she might give Neville another detention for losing his pet,” Ron said.

“We learn summoning charms in fourth year,” Lily added. The rest of the gang looked at her, even Neville, utterly confused.

“Lily, what does that have to do with anything?” Ron asked after a long pause.

Lily blushed. “Well, I was just thinking that if we already knew them, we could just try to summon Trevor, you know?”

“Right, well, if we remember in three years, I’ll be sure to give it a try,” Ron said. “I’m sure the Ministry will appreciate hundreds of toads flying across the country towards Hogwarts just because you thought it’d be neat as an experiment.”

“I don’t think it can summon multiple things at once,” Lily said, “I read about it in the Charms book Hermione gave me for Christmas. You have to have a specific image in mind for what you want to summon, you can’t just call forty brooms to you.”

“Well, that certainly helps narrow it down, doesn’t it?” Ron said. “A single flying toad is a lot more conspicuous, that is. Truly brilliant idea, Lily.”

Lily grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest. She hadn’t meant to make a fool of herself, but she had the thought out of her mouth before she could process what she was about to say. At least Neville hadn’t made fun of her. He was back to staring listlessly off at the lake.

“So,” Ron started, “Who do you think’s going for the stone, Lily?”

Lily looked up, brow furrowed. “Why are you asking me? I thought we had agreed on Snape.”

“ _We_ did, sure, but you didn’t. You always argue against him, remember?”

“Why does it matter who I think it is? The stone is safe, as long as Dumbledore-“

“Oh, come off it, just tell us who you think it is.” Ron rolled his eyes. “It’s only fair that we know your opinion, since you’ve shown how you feel about our suspect.”

Lily stared out at the lake, just like Neville, blushing. She could feel Hermione and Ron staring at her. “Professor Quirrell,” she muttered at last.

Ron laughed, and Hermione gave a brief snort as well, before looking embarrassed. She didn’t like to lose her composure.

“Quirrell? That coward? What makes you think he’s after it?” Ron did his best imitation of Quirrell shaking in his boots, but nobody found it funny.

Lily flushed deeper. “Well, I don’t know his motive, but I ran into Snape confronting him a few months back. He said Quirrell had been caught by the forbidden corridor four times already, and he told him to ‘drop the act.’”

“Wait,” Hermione said, leaning forward and placing a hand on Lily’s arm. “When did this happen?”

“Christmas,” Lily said, sniffing.

“And you didn’t think to tell us then?” Ron asked.

“Well, I didn’t think you’d believe it, did I? And clearly, you don’t.” Lily shook Hermione’s hand off. “What does it matter, anyway? Even if he does want the stone, like you said, Quirrell’s not going to actually go for it, is he?”

“I still think you should have told us,” Hermione said, voice full of hurt. Lily now felt bad.

“I’m sorry, Hermione,” she said.

“I don’t think you need to be sorry,” Ron said, “because you’re right, I still don’t believe it. It’s just absurd, that is. Quirrell going after the stone, I mean, really. Next, you’re gonna tell me the man has a _face_ on the back of his head.”

Hours later, and after a somber supper, they found themselves sitting in the Gryffindor common room, killing time before the detention. The positivity had gone out of the group after their beachside chat. Nobody’s heart had been in it, except for Ron. He was still trying to make jokes and cheer the rest of them up. It might have worked on Lily, but she was unfortunately the butt of most of the jokes, so it had only dampened her mood. When Ron hit his mark with a joke, he had a tendency to keep it rolling until everybody was sick of it.

Finally, the clock neared ten, and the three troublemakers stood, intending to make their way down before they could get in any further trouble.

“Good luck, then,” Ron said, yawning. “I think I’ll head off to bed a bit early, catch a few winks.”

“Good night,” Lily said in return. The others didn’t speak. Hermione was back to being extremely nervous, while Neville had been quiet most of the day. Lily pushed the two forward, trying to get them walking. They followed her lead, deferring to her expertise.

“Well, I think I’ll see you off,” Percy said, approaching with his obnoxious, shiny badge. He had been sitting in one of the fire armchairs, and it had been quickly snatched up as soon as he rose from it. “Don’t want you three wandering off and getting into even more trouble, hmm?”

“Thank you, Percy,” Lily said, grumbling. His escort was actually the last thing she wanted, but there was no refusing him. She was pretty sure he’d come along anyway.

Percy lectured them the whole way down, which was made even more obnoxious by the way Hermione and Neville dragged their feet. Lily would have gone at a much faster pace, in order to skip as much of Percy’s speech as she could, if they weren’t taking so much time.

“And, really, Lily, I must say you’re the worst of the bunch,” Percy said as they neared the Entrance Hall. “It’s all that hanging around Fred and George you do, if I had to guess. Bad role models, they are. I’ll have to have a word with Mum, she’ll keep them away from you. If you want, I could take over their tutoring duties, you might still make prefect if I do, although it’ll be an uphill battle for sure. I’m not sure Professor McGonagall trusts you all that much right now.”

“Thank you, Mr. Weasley, but that will be all,” McGonagall said, suddenly appearing from behind them. Neville and Hermione jumped, but Lily was just grateful she didn’t have to listen to Percy anymore. “And I will worry about Miss Potter’s prefect possibilities, thank you very much. Off you go, then.”

“Yes, Professor,” Percy said, blushing, as he hurried off back up the stairs.

“Now,” McGonagall said as she resumed her descent, the other three following behind them. “You three will be coming with me. Mr. Filch was supposed to escort you down, but as he is currently predisposed, I will take that duty myself.”

“What happened to Filch, Professor?” Lily asked, sure Neville and Hermione wouldn’t muster up the courage to talk.

“He’s busy cleaning the fourth floor hallway. We were wondering why the Owlery was so clean this morning, but it seems to be because Peeves managed to store all of the owl dung away for future use.”

“Well, he didn’t wait long at all, did he, Professor?”

“No, Peeves has never been one for patience. Now, Miss Potter, I must ask you to be quiet. This is supposed to be a punishment, after all.”

“Yes, Professor, but it wasn’t one I was supposed to be on.”

“None-the-less, I hope you will save me the idle chatter.”

Lily managed to hold it in until after they exited the castle, but she didn’t make it much further than that. “I managed to get _Musifors_ to work first try today, Professor.”

“Excellent progress, Miss Potter, to be certain. But I do believe I told you to take a break from _all_ Transfiguration work until next Saturday, did I not?” Thankfully, it was dark, so McGonagall couldn’t see Lily blushing. She had been hoping her achievement would have made McGonagall too excited to notice her disobedience.

“Yes, Professor, but I-“

“You’re still taking, Miss Potter.”

Lily grumbled, then looked around, frowning. “Professor? May I ask a question?”

“I suppose so, since you seem unable to help yourself.”

“Where’s Malfoy? Isn’t he supposed to be joining us?” They were almost halfway to Hagrid’s Hut now, and there was no sign of the blond-haired bigot. The trip to their detention was almost pleasant without him.

“Mr. Malfoy is being escorted by Professor Snape. He volunteered to do so, seeing as how the boy is a member of his house. I imagine he’s being given a stern lecture, as you lot should be. Fortunately for the three of you, I believe your upcoming punishment is more than enough. I certainly hope it is enough to cure you of this bad behavior, at the very least. One can only hope.”

“What are we doing, Professor?”

“I believe you have already been told that Hagrid will be instructing you, Miss Potter. I must say, I’m surprised you haven’t already gotten it out of the man. I was sure Mr. Malfoy would be the only one still in the dark.”

Lily crossed her arms, pouting. “I’m still mad at him for my hand, Professor, so we haven’t visited him.”

“So Hagrid was responsible for your injury, then?”

Lily looked away, blushing again. She felt Hermione kick her leg from behind, trying to stop her from talking. Unfortunately, Lily was feeling very chatty. McGonagall hadn’t been able to scare Lily anymore after the third detention.

“I didn’t say that, Professor.” She hoped that would be enough to save the man, although she was sure it wasn’t.

“You didn’t need to, Miss Potter. I have already gotten it out of Hagrid. He admitted to it the next day, dragon and all.”

Hermione gasped behind them, finally finding her will to speak. “Hagrid won’t be punished, will he, Professor?”

“This is Hagrid’s punishment as much as it is yours, Miss Granger. But no, he won’t get in any further trouble. Thankfully for him, you three managed to solve the matter before it could become any worse. Now, I must ask that you all finally stay quiet. You are serving a detention, and we are almost there.”

Lily finally obeyed, now that she was worried about Hagrid. McGonagall said he wouldn’t get in anymore trouble, but Lily didn’t know if she could quite trust that. Hagrid had told the gang that he had been expelled while they joined him for tea one day, and they had all gone rather mad trying to figure out what he had done. She knew it had to be worse than blowing up the library, because Lily had done that and she hadn’t even gotten points taken away, but Lily had been unable to come up with anything that could outmatch that.

Hagrid was waiting for them outside his hut, sitting on the steps with Fang, his boar hound. He looked up as they arrived, but he just grunted as a greeting, continuing to polish and maintain his crossbow.

“I will leave these three with you, Hagrid. If Filch has not finished by the time you all are done, I will be back to pick them up myself. You three, behave yourself, or this won’t be your last detention.”

“It already isn’t my last detention, Professor,” Lily said.

“And if you keep that up, we’ll carry on into next year. Good night, Hagrid. Don’t be afraid to dock points if Miss Potter gives you any issues, you have my full permission.” McGonagall left them there, standing in front of Hagrid. His hut was completely dark inside, which made it look rather unfriendly. Every time they had looked out the window at night previously, there had always been a glowing light coming from within. Now the only light came from the lantern Hagrid had set next to him.

“You alright, Hagrid?” Lily asked, trying to break the silence.

“I ‘spose,” Hagrid said, knocking a bolt into his crossbow. “Bit nervous ‘bout having students wit’ me, but Dumbledore requested it.”

“What are we doing, Hagrid?” Hermione asked, finding her voice again now that McGonagall had gone. She was far more comfortable around Hagrid, who she saw as a friend rather than a mentor.

“I’ll save that for when the other boy arrives,” Hagrid said in response.

“Did you hear from Charlie?” Neville asked. Lily started, having forgotten that Neville was with them.

“Sure did. Matter of fact, I jus’ finished readin’ his letter ‘fore you lot got here.” Hagrid patted his thick coat. “Did yeh know Norbert was a girl? I had no idea, meself. I hope she’s gettin’ alon’ well enough, Charlie said they can’ introduce her to other dragons ‘til the human stench gets off her.”

“I’m sure she’ll be perfectly happy, Hagrid,” Hermione said. Lily rubbed at her scarred hand, grumbling. She hoped Norbert was quite miserable, personally. She didn’t think she much liked dragons. 

“Ah, there’s Snape now, comin’ down from the castle,” Hagrid said, pointing. Lily tried to follow his gaze, but she couldn’t see anything in the darkness. There was a lot of cloud cover tonight, so there wasn’t any moonlight to go off of. All she had to go off of were the few lights coming off the castle. Hogwarts was a lot less impressive now that the semester was almost over. Lily had a suspicion that the staff purposefully made it as imposing as they could for the incoming first years to goggle at, then gave up once the lessons got going.

Soon enough, Snape and Malfoy entered into the dim lantern light. Neville looked more scared now that Snape was near. Lily, for her part, felt slightly better about it. She had been trying to get the professor to talk to the other Gryffindors for a while now, while Ron desperately tried to get her to stop. He was convinced the plan would only make things worse.

“Hello, Professor,” Lily said, waving.

Snape looked at her for a moment. “Hello, Potter. Fix your tie. I’m surprised Professor McGonagall let you out the castle, looking like that.”

Lily grumbled, fixing her tie, not quite expecting that response. She could see Hermione smirking at her.

“Well, Hagrid, here you are. One Mr. Malfoy, as promised. Do try not to get him killed. I’d hate to write his father about your incompetence getting his only son murdered.” Snape turned and left, not allowing anyone to respond.

“What did he mean by that?” Malfoy asked, looking back at his head of house as he exited their sight.

“Well, gather ‘round, then,” Hagrid said as he stood up. He tapped his crossbow against his leg, making Lily worried that he’d accidentally shoot himself in the foot. Fang laid down next to Hagrid’s other leg, trying to avoid the dangerous weapon on Hagrid’s side.

The first years approached, Malfoy far more cautiously. Lily thought she heard him mutter the word “oaf” under his breath. She would have called him out, but she was pretty sure Hagrid hadn’t heard it, and she didn’t want him to feel bad about being insulted. She had now decided she was no longer angry at Hagrid, although that could change very quickly, depending on what they were about to do.

“Righ’, then,” Hagrid started up again, “We’ll be headin’ off into the woods, then.”

“The _woods_?” Malfoy repeated, looking pale in the light coming off Hagrid’s lantern.

“Yes, the woods,” Hagrid repeated. “Something has been attacking unicorns, and it’s our job to find it.”

“Hagrid,” Lily dared, biting her lip. “Aren’t the woods supposed to be _forbidden_? Aren’t there werewolves and acromantulas and other horrible things in there?”

“Sure,” Hagrid said, actually smiling despite the students’ terror being plain to see. “But we won’ be goin’ in far enough to find those. Worse we might see are the centaur, and they’re friendly mos’ of the time, long as yeh don’t go insultin’ em.”

“What about the unicorn murderer?” Malfoy asked.

“Well, sure, them too, but that’s what I got this fer, ain’t it?” Hagrid said, waving his rather large crossbow. The first years flinched, fearing it accidentally skewering one of them. “Now, then, follow me,” Hagrid said, turning around and striding into the forest.

Lily shoved Hermione and Neville forward before following herself. She knew they’d need a little jumpstart to get going. Lily didn’t care if Malfoy followed. She thought it’d be more pleasant if he decided to hide at the hut.

Lily practically had to jog to keep up with Hagrid’s long stride, and soon she was short of breath. She could hear the others panting behind her, Malfoy included, as they also struggled to keep up.

“Hagrid,” Lily panted, “Please slow down.”

“Shhhhhhh,” Hagrid said, Lily’s words seemingly going unheard. Lily scratched at her scar, feeling very sweaty. The forest felt unnaturally warm, and Lily felt like she was sweating far more than usual, which only made the scar itch even more.

Lily’s cloak kept getting caught on the brambles, and it was getting _very_ dark. She was pretty sure that even if the moon were out tonight, they wouldn’t be able to see it. Then she started imagining what could be above her, watching them all walk on, and that only made everything worse, because she definitely wouldn’t be able to see them.

“ _Lumos_ ,” Lily said, lighting her wand once she got cut by an especially rude bramble bush. She had gotten tangled up in it entirely too well, and had to use _Diffindo_ to get herself out of it. Hagrid slowed down that time, as the rest of the first years couldn’t proceed until Lily got out of the way.

Lily was now in a very foul mood. They had been walking for an hour. She was tired, she was sore, she was covered in cuts, her hair had all sorts of things stuck in it, and she had to keep listening to Malfoy constantly complaining despite Hagrid’s constant reminders to be quiet. She was wishing she had remembered to warn Hermione and Neville about Malfoy, if only to save her the bother of having to listen to him.

Finally, Hagrid stopped, waiting for the first years to catch up. Once they had done so, he stooped over, pointing at a tuft of white fur caught on a bush. “See that?” he asked.

Everybody grunted. Even Lily was no longer in the mood for conversation. She just wanted to crawl into bed and snuggle with Weasley. She was just thankful that tomorrow was a Sunday. She expected that even Hermione would be sleeping in tomorrow.

“That’s unicorn hair, that is. And there,” Hagrid said, pointing at a trail of silvery liquid that went into two directions. “That is unicorn blood. Looks like we’ve found an injured one, we have.”

“And which way do we go?” Malfoy asked, acid in his voice. Lily inched closer to the unicorn hair.

“We’ll have to split up,” Hagrid said, causing Lily to groan. She was sure Neville and Hermione were currently wearing their terrified faces. “Two of you will come wit’ me, and the other two will take Fang.”

“I’ll take Fang,” Malfoy said, quickly. Fang took up position at Malfoy’s side. Lily swiped the unicorn hair while no one was looking. She mostly just thought it was neat, and wanted to keep it as a memento. She stuffed it into her pocket as quickly as she could.

“Suit yerself,” Hagrid said. “But I warn yeh, Fang’s a coward. Right, then, Hermione and Neville, yeh’ll come with me, and Lily, yeh’ll go with Fang and Malfoy.”

“Can’t I come with you instead?” Lily asked, groaning again.

“Nah, we’ll keep it even. Two boys and a girl to a group. Right, then, we’ll be headin’ right, you three go left. Just shoot sparks up inta the air if yeh find anythin’ and we’ll come runnin’.” Hagrid set off, turning right at the trail of blood.

“Hagrid, this doesn’t seem like a good idea,” Lily called after him. Neville and Hermione looked back apologetically as they passed, but they followed the giant man without a word.

Lily looked over at Malfoy, who was looking at Fang in a disappointed way, likely still thinking about the coward comment.

“Come on, then,” Lily said, sighing. She turned left at the trail, heading deeper into the forest.

“You know, when my father hears about this, he’ll have that oaf sacked,” Malfoy said from behind.

“I’m sure your father has already heard about it, Malfoy, and if you haven’t noticed, Hagrid is still there. Maybe he thinks it’ll be good for you.”

“What do you know, Potter?” Malfoy said, sneering.

“Look, just this once, can you _not_ be an absolute prat? I’d really appreciate it.” Lily pulled another set of thorns from her cloak, grumbling. She was now mad at Hagrid again, she decided. He’d be lucky if she came to visit once before the semester was over.

“What’s your problem, Potter? That time of the month, is it?” Lily could practically sense the sneer he was giving her, and she wished she wouldn’t get in even more trouble if she struck him.

Lily threw her head back, breathing deeply, trying to calm herself down. “Please, Malfoy, I am begging you. Just this once. That’s all I ask. We can go back to being mortal enemies tomorrow. Just give me this one thing.”

“What’s the matter, Potter? Scared?”

“Malfoy, you say that as if you weren’t about to soil yourself earlier.”

“At least I didn’t scream bloody murder when a bird flew at my head.”

“Look, you try having an owl swoop at your head in the pitch darkness, and we’ll see how you do, hmm?” Lily stumbled over a root, barely managing to catch herself. Malfoy sniggered from behind.

“Careful, Potter. I won’t be bringing back your body if you get yourself killed.”

“What is wrong with you, Malfoy, honestly?” Lily turned back to face him, pointing her wand at his chest. He didn’t have his own out. Fang stepped between the two, waiting.

“Me?” Malfoy sneered. “In case you didn’t notice, Potter, you’re the one with issues here. Half the school can’t stand you, the way you act so smug about everything.”

“Smug?” Lily repeated. “ _Smug_? Are you kidding me, Malfoy?”

Malfoy laughed. “Face it, Potter, there’s a reason nobody wants to be around you. Or didn’t you notice that your supposed ‘friends’ just walked off without so much as a word? Everybody’s noticed the way they’ve avoided helping you with your remedial Transfiguration work. But don’t worry, Potter, I’m sure you’ll find friends next year, after they resort you, assuming they even let you back in. No house will want a first-year flunky.”

Lily was stung. Malfoy had managed to hit her biggest insecurities. “I don’t know if _you_ noticed, Malfoy, but I’m not the one who’s been sitting completely by themselves lately. The rest of Slytherin doesn’t like you, and they’re all bunch of idiots, too. Not even the two minions you pay to hang around you can stand being in your presence anymore.”

Malfoy sneered, face full of hatred. “Showing your true colors, eh, Potter? I always knew you were a bi-“

“Yeah, well, maybe if you weren’t such a di-“ Lily roared, unleashing her fury.

The two had been talking over each other, and were interrupted at the same time by the sound of a branch breaking behind Lily. Lily whirled, raising her wand.

They walked forward, Malfoy taking out his own wand. The light was being reflected by a silvery pool laying in front of them. Lily suddenly realized there was a _lot_ of unicorn blood in front of them.

She raised her wand, willing the light to be stronger. It filled more of their view, revealing a unicorn laying on its side, unmoving. There was a dark figure slumped over it, sucking at the gushing wound at the majestic beast’s neck. Malfoy and Fang both whined behind Lily.

“ _Verdimillious,_ ” Lily whispered. Green sparks shot from her wand, flowing around the cloaked figure, revealing a dark aura around the back of the head. It suddenly looked up, locking onto Lily’s eyes.

Lily collapsed, screaming, hand reaching for her scar. It was now filled with pain, and Lily’s eyes started watering. She turned, seeing Malfoy and Fang rooted to the spot, frozen in fear.

“Run,” she shouted, getting to her feet. Fang bolted, followed shortly after by Malfoy. Lily ran after them, clutching at her forehead. “ _Fumos_!” she shouted; wand aimed behind her.

“ _Flipendo!”_ Malfoy said as he turned around, wand pointed at Lily’s feet. Lily lost her balance, falling to the forest floor. Her wand slipped from her hand, the light extinguishing. Malfoy laughed as he continued to run.

Lily panicked, grasping around for her wand. She could hear twigs snapping behind her, the cloaked figure looking for her. Lily grasped a branch, feeling it snap between her fingers. The tears were now coming more rapidly, her scar searing with pain.

She could hear the figure coming closer, just a few feet away. Finally, her hand found her wand, and she felt the familiar warmth flow through her fingertips. She whirled, laying on the ground, pointing her wand at a nearby thorn bush.

“ _Confringo!”_ She shouted. A lick of flame shot from her wand, soaring towards the bush. It lit up the area, and she could see the cloaked figure standing right next to it.

The bush exploded, sending shrapnel in every direction. Lily could feel several thorns pierce through her robes. She scrambled to her feet as the demon behind her screamed, an unholy screech filling the air. She sprinted, nearly tripping a dozen times, too scared to cast _Lumos_ and give her position away. She saw sparks fly into the air from a distance, and ran towards it.

She saw a glowing light as she neared, tears of relief coming to her eyes. She ran faster, throwing herself around Hagrid when she arrived, sobbing openly.

“Lily, thank heavens yer okay” the giant man said, holding Lily as well as he could. Lily could feel Hermione throw herself on from behind, followed soon after by Neville. “You alrigh’, then?”

“No,” she said. “Malfoy tripped me, left me with that _thing_.”

“You _what_?” Hagrid roared, turning to face the Slytherin boy. Lily detached herself, trying to calm down. Hermione and Neville stayed fully attached, although they glared at Malfoy.

Malfoy smirked, palms facing forward in disbelief. “Please, you can’t blame me if Potter can’t stay on her feet. You saw the way she flew, didn’t you?”

“Now, yeh listen here,” Hagrid began, poking Malfoy’s chest with his rather large finger. “Snape may not have given me permission to do nothin’ with yeh, but that won’t stop ‘im from punishin’ you ‘imself.”

“Please, I didn’t do anything,” Malfoy said, rolling his eyes. “Or are you forgetting it’s Potter’s words against mine?”

Hagrid looked taken aback. He glanced back at Lily, clearly still angry. She decided she could forgive him again, although not fully. But he may get another visit before the end of term, at the least.

“Drop it, Hagrid,” Lily said. “It’s over. I just want to go home.” Lily sniffed, getting up. Hermione and Neville stood with her, both keeping an arm around her.

“Can’ yet,” Hagrid said, fury still in his voice. “I have ta confirm the unicorn is dead, at the least’. You lot stay here. I give yeh full permission to curse Malfoy if he tries anythin’.” Hagrid left them, Malfoy looking around nervously.

“Easy, Potter,” he said, trying to smooth things over. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just figured it was after you.”

_“Petrificus Totalus_ ,” Hermione said coldly, pointing her wand at Malfoy. Malfoy’s arms snapped to his sides, his legs closing together, and then he fell backwards, landing on the hard ground. Lily kicked at Malfoy, testing the body bind.

“When did you learn that one, Hermione?” she asked.

“Before Christmas,” Hermione sniffed. “It was in the book I gave you. I just figured I’d try something out first before I handed it over.”

They were waiting around a campfire they had assembled when Hagrid returned. Lily had cast the _Incendio_ while Neville had gathered the tinder. Hermione had waited on standby to put it out, if need be. Fang was now laying on top of Malfoy, enjoying the boy’s warmth.

Hagrid snorted when he saw Malfoy, then flung him over his shoulder. “Come on, then. Long way back.” Hagrid strode off, slower this time so the tired first years could keep up. It took them longer to reach the forest’s edge than it had to enter it. The sun was starting to creep up as they exited the forest, and Lily had never been so happy to see the castle’s silhouette.

“I’ll take yeh up,” Hagrid said, shifting Malfoy’s wait around. “Better take Mr. Malfoy up to the Hospital Wing.” Hagrid glanced down at Lily. “Yeh better come with me, I think. Yeh look awful.”

Lily gave herself a once over, and had to agree with Hagrid. She was covered in her own blood from the dozens of scratches she had obtained over the night, and everything was very sore. She was pretty sure she had twisted something when Malfoy tripped her, but she hadn’t said anything. She hadn’t even noticed until they were on the way back, when she had been forced to limp along behind Hermione and Neville. They had offered to carry her, but she had been too proud to accept.

Professor McGonagall was waiting for them in the Entrance Hall when they made it back. She looked shocked to see the state Lily was in, and only gave a quick glance at Malfoy. Lily was surprised to note that Professor Snape hadn’t bothered coming to pick his student up.

“Good heavens,” the old professor said. “What happened to you?”

“Too much, “ Lily said, exhausted, already dreaming of a long nap in the Hospital Wing.


	18. Exam Week

Lily, unfortunately, did not get to nap in the Hospital Wing like she had hoped. Madame Pomfrey forced her back to the common room as soon as her wounds were patched up Lily made sure to take a shower first; she had to get all the leaves and twigs out of her hair. Hermione had gone to bed long before she arrived. Lily collapsed onto her own mattress, groaning. It was bright in the room, the sun now fully risen. Weasley looked up from Lavender’s bed, then went back to sleep.

“Traitor,” she grumbled, closing her eyes. Her head felt very foggy, and it wasn’t long at all until she was drifting off into sleep.

“Lily?” Lily flinched, startled by the sudden sound. That voice sounded awfully familiar, but it couldn’t be her. She was still laying in bed with Lily’s cat, and the sound came from right above Lily. Lily pulled her blankets tighter around her, trying to shut out the light.

“Grnn,” Lily responded, hoping the phantom would go away.

“Lily, it’s past noon, aren’t you getting up?”

“Lavender, I just laid down.” Lily briefly opened her eyes, and then immediately shut them. The sun pouring through the window had blinded her, but she had briefly seen the silhouette of Lavender standing over her.

“Lunch just ended,” Lavender said. There was suddenly pressure on four points of Lily’s back, and then none as Weasley moved to the side of Lily. The cat swatted her on the nose. Lily groaned and then rolled over to avoid the cat. Lavender giggled, still standing over Lily’s bed. “He’s been waiting for you all day, haven’t you, my wittle Weaswey?”

“Please don’t call him that,” Lily said, refusing to open her eyes.

“Aww, but he’s my wittle Weasley Beasley, yes he is,” Lavender scooped Weasley back up, holding him in her arms.

Lily rolled over, accepting her fate. She squinted at the other girl, trying her best to look fearsome. “Lavender, what do you need?”

“Nothing! I just figured it was time to get up, is all. What time did you get back, anyway?” Lavender hummed and gave Weasley a quick kiss on his head. She never seemed to be afraid of anything.

“Eight,” Lily responded, wishing for death. She leaned back onto her pillow, throwing it over her eyes to block out the light.

“Oh,” Lavender said, suddenly choosing to be silent for the first time in her life. Lily heard her walk away and exit the dorm. Lily sighed, happy for the peace. Then the door opened again. “By the way, Hermione is already up. Just thought you should know.”

Lily tossed her pillow at the door as Lavender shut it. Then she groaned, realizing that she’d need to get up to go get it.

An hour later, and Lily was climbing down the staircase. Her hair was a mess; she hadn’t bothered brushing it. She had just thrown on a fresh pair of robes and a single earring. She had apparently lost one in the woods, much to her disappointment. She had quite liked them. She wore the remaining one in her right ear.

She spotted Ron sitting at a table by himself, working on some homework. She approached, taking the seat opposite of him.

“Morning,” she said, leaning back in the chair. She closed her eyes, wondering if it was still possible to go back to sleep.

“Afternoon, actually,” Ron said, not looking up. “Neville is still sleeping, and I haven’t seen Hermione.”

Lily frowned. “Lavender said she was already up.”

Ron shrugged. “Like I said, haven’t seen her. You mind going over my essay?” Ron stopped writing, then slid the parchment over. Lily rubbed her eyes, then held her hand out for Ron’s quill. He handed it over, and she set about correcting his work. She squinted at the title, trying to figure out what he was working on.

“Potions? I thought you had already finished that.” Lily crossed out an extra word in his first sentence.

“Yeah, well, I thought I had, but then Seamus reminded me that we had an essay,” Ron said, leaning back in his seat. “I’ve been working on it all day. I was hoping we’d go sit by the lake when I finished, assuming you lot got up.”

“That sounds nice,” Lily said, scratching out a sentence Ron had written twice in the second paragraph.

“I figured if all the good common room seats would be taken, we could at least claim something outside, make it our own, you know?”

“What about the winter?” Lily briefly considered scratching out the entirety of the fourth paragraph, but then decided to spare Ron. He’d have to rewrite it if she did.

“Well, you and Hermione made that fire for the last one. I figured you’d find a way to keep us warm.”

“We’ll see,” Lily said. “I’ll do some research over the summer, see what I can come up with.”

“You’re gonna do schoolwork over the summer? Are you mad?”

Lily glanced up at the baffled boy. “You do know we have homework as well?”

Ron sputtered. “Well, yeah, but that’s just the bare minimum! Why do more than you need to?”

“Because if I don’t get ahead, I’m going to have another miserable year ahead of me. I don’t want to do this every semester, Ron, I already feel like I’m stretched too thin.” Lily scratched at her head, trying to figure out what Ron’s wording in this paragraph was supposed to convey.

“Third year is going to be miserable for you, then,” Ron said, leaning back in his chair. Lily looked up again, having decided to just scrap the entire thing.

“Why is that?”

“Because we have to take two more electives starting then.”

Lily’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding!”

“Am not. Ask Fred and George, they’re taking Muggle Studies and Magical Runes.” Ron nodded towards where the twins were sitting. They were huddled in a corner, discussing something with Lee Jordan, glancing around occasionally to make sure nobody was listening in. They waved when they noticed Lily looking at them. Lily waved back, not at all happy with what she had just learned.

Lily pushed Ron’s essay back across the table, deciding it was good enough. Hermione could fix the rest of it later. “I wish somebody had told me earlier,” she said, pulling at her already loose tie. She stared out the window, wishing she was outside enjoying the sun, rather than cooped up inside having to face yet more Transfiguration practice.

“We’ll get some guidance counseling next year to help us pick,” Ron said, rolling up his scroll. “I’m just going to choose whatever seems easiest, myself. I don’t think I could stand any more work. Potions is already killing me.”

“Oh, killing you, is it?” Lily laid her head down on the table, feeling utterly defeated. She wished somebody would put her out of her misery.

“If it makes you feel better, we get to pick our own schedules after fifth year. Course, it’s just based off what you do well in before, but still, there’s that.”

Lily kept her head down. “I have to take Transfiguration for _four more years_?”

“Cheer up,” Ron said, standing up. “I’m sure it won’t get any worse from here. You want to go for a walk after I put this away? I can get Neville up, too.”

“Let him sleep,” Lily said, sitting up. She leaned her head into her hand, elbow resting on the table. “I guess I’ll go. I could use a break after last night. And I _really_ don’t want to study right now.”

“Great,” Ron said, skipping upstairs. “You can fill me in, then.”

Hours later, Lily and Ron were sitting under the same tree from yesterday, lazing in the shade. Neville was presumably still sleeping, and they hadn’t been able to find Hermione anywhere, although they admittedly hadn’t looked too hard. Hermione would have convinced the two to get back to studying, and they both really wanted the break.

“So Hagrid just left you there in the woods immediately after you were attacked by something?” Ron scratched his nose. He always seemed to get dirt stuck to it somehow.

“We were safe at that point,” Lily said in his defense. She scratched at her forehead. She was laying fully on the grass, staring up at the clear sky. She decided she couldn’t wait for next year, when she’d get her broom back. She hadn’t realized she missed flying until just now. Lily brushed her hair out of her face, then noticed Ron was looking at her.

“Hey, what happened to your earring? You only have one now.” Lily blushed. Ron had been sitting on her right side, and she hadn’t considered that he’d notice.

Lily sighed. “It fell off after I blew up that bush, I think.”

“You’ve got to teach me that spell sometime.”

“I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to. It’s not something I can show off without getting into trouble.” Lily bit her lip. “Also, please keep that part a secret. Neville and Hermione don’t know about it.”

Ron frowned. “Why are we keeping it a secret? It’s great, really, we should all learn it.”

Lily pulled at her tie again. “Well, I _may_ have learned it by sneaking into the restricted section after curfew and blowing up a chair.”

Ron laughed, only furthering Lily’s embarrassment. “That’s brilliant, that is. No wonder you kept it a secret from Hermione, she’d lose it.”

“Which is why we can’t tell her,” Lily said, being serious. She didn’t know how Hermione would react, and she didn’t want to find out.

“Sure,” Ron said, smiling. “But you’ll still have to teach it to me at some point. I can’t believe you almost blew up the _library_.”

“Fine, Ron, I promise I’ll teach it to you _later_ ,” Lily said, closing her eyes. She thought a nice nap would be perfect right now.

“You know,” Ron said, reclining next to her for his own nap, “You should try putting your hair up. You’d look better that way, it’d actually show off the ear.”

Lily blushed, choosing to not look at Ron. She turned her head in the other direction so he wouldn’t see.

“It’d show the scar,” Lily grumbled.

“So?”

“So, I don’t like people looking at it, is all,” Lily said, still refusing to look over.

“Nevermind then,” Ron said, yawning.

Hermione still hadn’t joined them by dinner time, although they did run into Neville. Rather, Neville ran into them, as they were still eating in the Great Hall when he wandered in.

“Morning,” he said as he sat down across from Ron. Lily had taken the seat next to the ginger boy, as they had originally been sitting across from Fred and George, who had left ages ago.

“Evening,” Ron said, not looking up from his plate.

“Evening,” Neville repeated, scooping some mashed potatoes onto his plate. He yawned, clearly still tired. Lily felt alert now, but she was sure she’d crash soon.

“Did you just now get up?” Lily asked. She pulled at earring, thinking about what Ron said. She hoped that this wouldn’t become yet another habit.

“No, I’ve been up for a while now. I was in the library with Hermione.”

“Why didn’t we look there?” Ron asked, glancing at Lily.  
“That is a good question, Ron,” Lily said, not looking meeting anyone’s eyes. She felt ashamed that she had prioritized having a day off over finding her best friend. “Why didn’t she come down with you, Neville?”

“Said she wasn’t hungry. She’s still getting ready for exams.” Neville piled more potatoes on his plate. Lily briefly considered asking if that was all he was going to eat, but thought better of it.

“We better bring something up to the common room with us, then,” Lily said, grabbing a few rolls to stuff into her pockets.

“I don’t think she’s going to eat those,” Ron said, rolling his eyes.

“Why not?” Lily asked, stuffing another few into the already cramped pockets.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve been storing in your pockets lately?”

“Course, I do, they’re my pockets, aren’t they?” Lily grabbed another roll, this one for herself, as she took a big bite out of it. She bit the inside of her mouth on accident, causing her to flinch. She looked away from the others, eyes watering.

“Lily, you’ve been storing your mouse in there.”

Lily paused, taking a moment to poke at her cheek with her tongue. “They’ve been cleaned since then. Besides, they aren’t real mice, are they? Better my pockets than yours, you still have Scabbers on you.”

“He’s up in the dorm, actually,’ Ron said, poking at a chicken breast. “I’ve been leaving him there for a while now. Weasley stresses him out.”

“I could put Weasley in my own dorm, you know, all you had to do was ask. I’d hate for Scabbers to be cooped up in bed all the time.” Truthfully, Lily didn’t like Scabbers, and didn’t care what he was up to. But she’d put up with it for the sake of not having Ron be angry again.

Ron snorted. “It’s not like it makes a difference. He’s either sleeping on my pillow, or he’s sleeping in my pocket. It’s all he does, really.”

“How long have you had Scabbers, Ron?” Neville asked.

“I only just got him, really,” Ron said. “Before now, he was Percy’s rat, but since Percy got a new owl for making prefect, I got his stupid, fat rat.”

Lily frowned. “Ron? How old is Scabbers?”

“Dunno,” Ron said, taking another bite of chicken. “He’s older than me, I think. Mum said Bill was taking care of him before Percy was.”

Now it was Neville’s turn to frown. “How old are rats supposed to live?”

Ron paused, thinking. “You know, I’m not quite sure. But all wizard pets live longer than muggle ones, on account of all the magic. I think he’ll last a few more years, at least.”

“Is that how it works?” Lily asked.

“Yeah, why not?” Ron said, grabbing another roll himself. “I don’t know if you noticed, but Weasley is smarter than your average cat. All familiars are.”

“Are they born that way?” Lily asked, thinking about how badly she wanted Weasley to be laying in her lap right now.

“I dunno,” Ron said, shrugging. “I just know you can’t hand a letter to any old owl, it’s got to be a Wizard Owl. So I guess not, but I don’t know what it is we do to make them different.”

“I need to go to the library,” Lily said, standing, shoving a roll into her mouth while she grabbed another to take with her. She could have eaten one of the pocket rolls, but those were for Hermione.

“It closes in thirty minutes!” Ron called after her, shaking his head. Lily hurried her pace at this news.

Lily ran into Hermione on her way into the library, who was on her way _out_ of the library. Lily tried to rush past, not noticing who she bumped into.

“Lily!” Hermione said, catching the other girl by her arm before she could pass by. “I figured you’d come to the library much earlier. What kept you?”

“I was chatting with Ron,” Lily said. She gestured into the library with her head. “I need to do some research real quick, though, if you want to join me.”

Hermione considered it for a moment. “Well, I was coming down to get some supper before it closed, but I suppose I can.”

“That’s the spirit, Hermione. Besides, I brought you some food.” Lily patted her pockets, flattening the rolls even more.  
Hermione gasped. “Lily, you can’t bring food into the library, it’s against the rules! Madame Pince will freak when she finds out.”

“I’ll be quick, Hermione, I just need to check out a book on familiars, that’s all.”

“Familiars? Whatever for?”

“I’m just curious, that’s all. Are you coming or not, Hermione? I have very little time.”

“Oh, go ahead then, I’ll just meet you up at the common room,” Hermione huffed, turning away quickly. Lily hesitated, having the briefest inkling that she needed to apologize for something, but she went into the library instead.

Unfortunately, Madame Pince did not have the necessary tome available right now. It had been checked out by an upper classman, who needed it for some research project or something. Lily was just disappointed she didn’t get to find out more about how Weasley worked. She supposed there was always next year, assuming her excitement for the topic stuck around past exams.

Hermione didn’t eat the pocket rolls. Ron and Neville had brought her up some actually edible food from downstairs, carried in napkins. Lily ate the rolls instead, grumbling. She hadn’t even gotten so much as a thank you for her consideration. Lily and Hermione went to bed very shortly after, having gotten significantly less sleep than Neville and Ron had.

Saturday rolled around, and Lily left for yet another detention with McGonagall. She was surprised to see Malfoy was there as well. He was busy writing lines for his own punishment. Lily was pleased to see that he still had a hundred pages or so to go, based on the stack of blank parchment sitting next to him. With any luck, he’d be there even longer than she would.

“Good afternoon, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said, looking up from her desk when she arrived. “Have a seat.” McGonagall gestured to an empty desk set up across the room from Malfoy. Malfoy himself had taken Lily’s usual spot which annoyed her. Clearly, the boy didn’t know the proper way things worked around here.

Lily took the remaining seat, glaring at Malfoy, who smirked in response. Lily briefly considered jinxing him, but with McGonagall in close proximity, she didn’t think she could get away with it.

“Miss Potter, this will be your last detention of the semester,” McGonagall said, setting down her own quill. Lily tried to hide her smile. She’d have a lot more freedom now that she didn’t have to spend the rest of her Saturdays with the professor.

McGonagall walked to her storage cabinet, taking out the statue of the bird Lily had been working on for most of the year. Lily saw Malfoy smirk, and she felt her face flush in embarrassment. She could already imagine Malfoy making her life more miserable with this new information. He had known she was terrible before, but since the Gryffindors had Transfiguration alone, nobody else had even seen her in action.

McGonagall set the statue on Lily’s desk. “All you have to do is get the spell to work, Miss Potter. Succeed once, and you may leave.” McGonagall sat at her desk, placing her reading glasses back on. She still had quite a few papers to grade.

Lily stared at the statue, then up at Malfoy, who was watching her with bemusement. She glanced at McGonagall, then made a rude gesture at the boy when she was satisfied that the professor wasn’t paying attention.

“Five points from Gryffindor, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said, her eyes never leaving the paper she was reading. Malfoy sniggered in response, unable to contain himself. Lily blushed further, pulling out her wand.

“ _Avifors,_ ” she said, imagining the bird flexing its wings as it turned from stone to flesh.

The statue didn’t move, although it did slightly change colors to blue. That was disappointing, as Lily had been imagining a red bird. Malfoy sniggered again from across the room, causing Lily to blush even further. She didn’t think it was possible to become any more red.

“I don’t hear that quill moving, Mr. Malfoy,” McGonagall said. Malfoy rolled his eyes, but started writing. Lily calmed down just a little bit now that he wasn’t active watching her. She tried the spell again, frustrated when it continued to do nothing.

Lily made no progress by the time she left. She had never been so embarrassed. McGonagall had been especially frustrated, and made it no secret, even with a Slytherin in the room. Malfoy had gotten twenty points deducted when he had laughed in the middle of McGonagall giving Lily a lecture. That hadn’t made Lily feel any better, even though it absolutely should have.

Lily returned to the common room, feeling utterly defeated. None of her friends were there waiting for her, she found. That was the first time they had gone off without her during one of her detentions, and that only made her feelings more hurt. She briefly wondered if Malfoy had been right in the forbidden forest, but she pushed it out of her mind, determined to do some more studying before her friends returned. She _would_ get this spell before exams started. She’d show them all.

The last few weeks passed quickly, the first years found, significantly faster than Lily would have preferred. Mr. Weasley had warned her she wouldn’t have the time to do things properly. She tried anyway, of course, and her Transfiguration book was now absolutely full of notes and tips Lily had written for herself. She now took to reading it near daily in an attempt to catch up.

Finally, the dreaded week arrived. The normal class schedule was pushed aside, replaced by the exam schedule. Lily was horrified to see Transfiguration would be their last exam, all the way on Friday morning. Ron had been delighted that they’d have almost a week to unwind before they were to be sent home; the train left the school promptly at 10:20 am the following Wednesday.

Monday morning was the Charms exam. Flitwick had arranged a larger room for the exam, with each desk spread apart six feet from the other. Ron had been shocked; his plan had been to sneak answers off of Lily’s paper, which she had been happy to go along with. It seemed a fair trade for Ron keeping her secret.

Lily never had an easier exam. The answers were practically flowing straight from her mind to her paper, her quill moving faster than it ever had before. For the first time, Lily managed to not leave a single inkblot on the page, something she was very proud of. She stood to turn in her exam first, beating even Hermione, who gave her a pouting look when she saw she had been beaten.

After the written exam had been finished by everybody (with Ron managing to finish last, having been beaten by even Neville), they were called one by one into a separate room for the practical portion. They were called in the order they had finished, so Lily once again got to go first (Hermione had come in second, and would be going next).

“I thought of exempting you, Miss Potter,” Flitwick confessed once they were alone in the next room, “But I thought I’d give you a real test, if you don’t mind.”

Lily smiled, elated that she had finally excelled at something. Not even her previous Muggle teachers had ever given her such genuine praise, even though she had always been an excellent student. “What do you mean, Professor?”

“Well, it’s not something we’ve covered yet,” Professor Flitwick said, stroking his moustache, “But Professor McGonagall told me in private that you’ve pulled off a successful blasting charm. Is that true?”

Lily blushed, looking down at her feet. She hadn’t expected McGonagall to tell anybody, but of course she would have. “Yes, Professor, but-“

“Wonderful!” Flitwick said, elated. Lily looked up in surprise. She had been expecting another scolding. Flitwick composed himself. “Of course, if you had been in my house, I would feel differently, with the awful lot of rule breaking you got into. But seeing as how you are a Gryffindor; I shall allow myself an exception.”

“Professor, what am I being tested on?’ Lily already knew the answer to that, but she wanted to hear him say it. She had gotten so few chances to use the blasting charm, but she had quickly decided it was her favorite spell immediately after she had escaped from the library.

“Why, the blasting charm, of course,” Flitwick said. Lily smiled, despite trying to keep herself in check. Flitwick gestured over to a desk he had set up in the middle of the room. There was a pineapple on top of it, for some reason, that he quickly removed.

“You’re supposed to be making it dance,” Flitwick explained, “But I know you’re already more than capable of that. Try the blasting charm on my desk, instead.”

Lily bit her lip. “But, professor-“

“Do not worry, Miss Potter, do not worry, I’ve soundproofed the room, and fixing the desk afterwards is an easy matter. Well, go on, then.”

Lily composed herself once more, pointing her wand at the desk. “ _Confringo,_ ” she said. Flitwick waved his own wand immediately after, while Lily’s shot a wisp of flame towards the desk.

The desk exploded, of course, and Lily flinched, expecting shrapnel to come their way. Shrapnel did, in fact, come their way, but it bounced off of an invisible shield Flitwick had conjured. Lily still managed to fall over anyway; she was far too used to getting hit by her own spell, even if she had only used it two times.

“Well done, well done!” The pint-sized professor said, practically dancing in excitement. “I must admit, I don’t think even Miss Granger would be able to produce a charm quite as effective!”

Lily stood up, brushing herself off. “When do we learn that shield charm, Professor?”

“Next year, actually. You’ll be covering it in Defense. Full marks, Miss Potter, as promised,” he said as he waved his wand over his broken desk, the fragments all flying back together to reform. “Please send Miss Granger in as you leave, and be sure not to tell anybody what they’ll be doing. Oh, and word of warning: the blasting charm doesn’t have the same effect on living creatures, aside from plants. Those, it’ll just cause a blast to happen nearby. I must still forbid using it, of course, because even then it can cause terrible damage. Have a wonderful day, Miss Potter.”

Lily left, happier than she ever had before, calling for Hermione, who entered the room looking extremely nervous. Lily made sure to tell Neville and Ron what they were going to do and how to do it before she left the classroom. Neville had been especially thankful.

Monday night was Astronomy, another exam Lily hadn’t been looking forward to, albeit for entirely different reasons. The exam took place at midnight, just like all of the associated classes, and since Potions was supposed to be the next morning, she really wasn’t looking forward to how little sleep she’d be getting.

Lily tried to work as quickly as she could, mapping out her star chart in a hurry, then moving her telescope to the next section. Thankfully, this exam was a group effort, and she could rely on Hermione to help speed things up. Ron and Neville were just there to get good marks. They managed to finish in an hour, before everybody else, and soon enough, Lily was laying in bed with Weasley, finding herself unable to sleep despite how tired she was.

She was extremely groggy on Tuesday morning when she left the Great Hall for the Potions exam. Ron and Neville had decided to sleep in for as long as they could, and Hermione had stayed in the common room to cram just a little while longer rather than come down for breakfast. It was the first time in a long time that Lily was forced to eat a meal by herself.

The written portion was far longer than the other two had been, Lily found out. She still found out remarkably easy; Potions was her second-best class. She had to wait for Hermione before she could start the practical, since it was a partner project. She had the feeling Ron and Neville would need all day to finish. Luckily for them, it was the only exam on the schedule for today.

Hermione finished the written exam an hour after Lily had, much to the red-haired girl’s surprise. She thought they’d be almost done by now, but instead, a few pairs had already gotten ahead.

“I spent a whole hour on that last essay,” Hermione confessed, pulling at her hair. “I couldn’t remember how to make the forgetfulness potion.”

“That makes sense,” Lily said, nodding her head as she began grinding up Lionfish spines. The recipe called for whole spines, and Hermione was looking frightened, but Lily had read that they were far more potent when ground, and she had written it down in her text. The practical was to make a Wiggenweld Potion using the book’s recipe.

Professor Snape passed by thirty minutes later, now that most of the students had started the actual potion making, and he paused at their table. He picked up the mortar containing Lily’s lionfish powder, frowning.

“Potter?”

“Yes, Professor?’ Lily returned, stirring their cauldron. Hermione looked ready to faint, but Lily felt confident. Snape had yet to scold her potion-making. She was the only Gryffindor he didn’t seem to hate.

“You are aware the recipe calls for whole lionfish spine, yes?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Then why have you ground all yours?”

“I did some research, Professor. It’s more potent when ground up, and should make for a better Potion. I wrote it down, see?” Lily pointed to her book, laying open on the countertop.

Snape set the mortar down, laying his hand over the page as he read over it. Lily thought she saw the faintest hint of a smile, but it was quickly gone. Snape moved on without another word, and Hermione let out a sigh of relief. Even Ron and Neville had frozen at the table next door, fully expecting Snape to blow up at their young Gryffindor companion for the first time. Snape constantly stressed that nobody was to stray from the recipes given. Lily knew she had been taking a huge gamble, and she hoped it was worth it.

Another hour later, and Lily was handing in a vial filled with completed Wiggenweld Potion. It was a bright green, turns out. A little _too_ bright, matter of fact. The example in the book was a shade darker. Hermione followed Lily with a vial of her own, looking far more nervous about it. She had spent the past ten minutes freaking out, trying to convince Lily to make it darker somehow. Lily had just rolled her eyes; they were way past the point of no return.

Professor Snape took the vial, holding it up to inspect it. He was silent for a long moment, and Lily bit her lip, suddenly feeling nervous. She couldn’t help but wonder if Snape had been waiting to reprimand her for when it would be most embarrassing. She glanced at Hermione, who was threatening to pull out clumps of her own hair. Lily had a gut feeling that she wouldn’t be forgiven if she was the reason they failed an exam.

“Excellent work, Potter,” Snape said at last, setting the vial down in a rack. Lily let out a sigh of relief before letting Hermione pass. Snape took her vial, and set it in the rack after inspecting it for only a brief moment. “Adequate work, Miss Granger. Luckily you had Miss Potter doing the work for you. I can only imagine what sludge Weasley and Longbottom will be bringing me. Assuming they manage to make anything at all, that is.”

Hermione flushed, and walked away as quickly as she could, not looking at Lily, who had been taking her time in packing so she could walk with her friend. Ron looked like he had some choice words for the professor, but Neville looked more worried that Snape had been right. He was currently stirring their cauldron, and they had somehow gotten it to be a dark shade of red. Lily considered telling them that they had added too much Salamander blood, but left once she realized that telling them that _now_ wouldn’t do any good.

She found Hermione sitting in the common room. She likely would have gone to the library instead, but at this point of the year it was fully packed by all the older students, and there was nowhere for first years to sit.

Lily took the seat across from Hermione, who was going over her Potions notes.

“Hermione, we’re done with Potions now,” Lily said, taking out her Herbology notes. She’d given up on Transfiguration; either she’d pass it or she wouldn’t. Despite her previous determination, she still hadn’t managed the results she wanted, and she was simply out of time.

“I’m just trying to find anything on Lionfish spines,” Hermione grumbled, flipping through the pages.

“It wasn’t in there,” Lily said, “I found it in _Common Potions Reagents and Their Secondary Uses_. I was trying to find something that would boost my memory retention, to be honest, but it seemed useful enough.”

“I think I’m going to work with Ron or Neville next year,” Hermione said, not looking up from her textbook.

Lily was hurt, and she was sure her face showed it, even if Hermione wasn’t currently looking at her. “Why?” She managed to ask.

“Because if Snape isn’t going to give me credit when I’m working with you, then maybe he will if I work with someone else.” Hermione said, finally looking up. She paused when she saw Lily’s expression, and bit her lip. “I didn’t mean it that way, Lily, I’m sorry. I’m just frustrated.”

Lily stood, trying to make her face look more normal. “It’s okay, Hermione. If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to go grab some late lunch. I’m starving.”

Hermione didn’t say anything as she walked away. Both girls knew lunch had already closed for the day.

Wednesday morning rolled around, and with it, the History of Magic and Herbology exams. History of Magic was easy enough, it was just a list of terms and definitions they were expected to know, as well as a bunch of dates they had to identify. Lily knew she got at least half of them right for sure, and the other half she figured she guessed well enough to at least earn a passing grade.

Herbology was a little more difficult. The written portion consisted of drawing and labelling plants from memory, and Lily found that she was struggling quite a bit. She had neglected the subject a little too much in her haste to learn Transfiguration, and she was paying for it now. Herbology had always been her second worst class; she should not have neglected it.

Thankfully, the practical was partner work, and she scooped Neville up before even Ron could. He had grumbled at having his best mate stolen, but paired up with Hermione anyway. Hermione looked hurt that Lily had avoided her, but she didn’t say anything about it. Lily felt slightly bad, but she hadn’t even intended it as a punishment for Hermione. She had just genuinely needed Neville to carry her to a passing grade.

Thursday rolled around, and so did the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam. It was the easiest by far, somehow being more pathetic for Lily than the Charms exam had. Even Ron and Neville finished it extremely quickly. Quirrell hadn’t even bothered creating a practical portion, and they were soon free of his classroom, with the rest of the day to spend studying for their last exam.

Friday brought Transfiguration and Lily’s doom. This is what she had been dreading all year. She rose for an early breakfast, and then found she had no appetite. She ate a solitary slice of toast and a single egg; that was all she could get down without feeling sick. Hermione joined her shortly after, and her day brightened by just a small amount.

“How are you feeling?” Hermione asked, already knowing the answer.

“Like death,” Lily said, pushing a sausage around her plate with her fork.

“Well, you better eat a bit more. You’ll need your strength.” Hermione tried to throw some toast onto Lily’s plate, but Lily pushed away her hand.

“Not hungry,” Lily said, fighting the urge to puke.

“Would you like me to quiz you?” Hermione asked, pulling out her notes.

“No,” Lily said, continuing to push that sausage. “I don’t think it’ll help at this point.”

Hermione bit her lip. “Have you tried casting any of the spells yet?”

“No,” Lily grumbled, pushing her plate away so she could lay her head on the table. “If I mess it up, I’ll only feel worse, and then I definitely won’t be able to do it later.”

“Oh, look, Hedwig’s here,” Hermione said. Lily didn’t look up, and soon Hedwig was using her head as a resting perch. Lily felt Hermione tug a letter off of Hedwig’s leg. “It’s from Hagrid,” she said as she opened the letter. “He’s invited us to tea after our last exam. Should I send him a response?”

Lily groaned. Hedwig nipped at her ear, and she swatted at the bird. Hedwig cooed, then hopped off, stealing Lily’s sausage as she flew away.

“I’ll send him a ‘yes,” I think,” Hermione said, earning another grunt from Lily. “It’ll be good to relax afterwards.”

Lily paced outside the Transfiguration classroom, waiting for her doom to arrive. Her overt nervousness only increased that of the surrounding first years, but she couldn’t stop.

“Will you give it a rest already?” Ron snapped. Lily kept pacing. “Lily, it’s not going to be that bad. McGonagall’s tests have always been really easy. Remember the last one?”

“I failed that one,” Lily said, pulling at her hair. Ron pursed his lips, regretting having said anything.

Finally, the doors opened, and the rest of the students hurried inside while Lily continued pacing. Hermione took Lily’s hand, pulling her to an empty desk before going to find one of her own. Lily sat down, sweating bullets. McGonagall began passing out the exam, starting at the front of the classroom. Lily was in the very back, the absolute last seat for McGonagall to reach, heart thumping as McGonagall made her way closer.

“Good lord, Potter, get ahold of yourself,” she said, rolling her eyes as she handed over the final exam. Lily said a silent prayer, hoping for the best, then saw McGonagall wink at her. She looked back at the professor curiously, then looked around the room. Nobody else seemed to notice.

“When you are finished with the exam, I will call you each individually for the practical portion. You may begin.” McGonagall sat at her desk, observing her students. Lily gulped, looking around the classroom. Hermione seemed to already be on the second page of the exam, while Ron was scratching his nose on the first question. Lily couldn’t see Neville from where she was sitting.

“Eyes on your own paper, please,” McGonagall said from the front. Lily quickly looked down, picking up her quill and dipping it in the ink. She read the first question.

_What is the incantation for transmuting an object into a snuffbox?_

Lily frowned, risking another look around. From what she could see nearby, all the students around her were writing more than a single word for their answers. Most of the first page was the same kind of content. She flipped to the next page just to make sure something wasn’t wrong.

_Draw a diagram showing the effects of the Avifors spell on a slab of wood._

That seemed a little more intensive, but still an easy one. All she had to do was draw a log turning into a bird.

And the whole exam was like this. Lily had an easier time with it than she did the Defense exam. She wanted to believe that it was because of all the studying she had done, she had read an _awful_ lot of theory, after all. But the wink McGonagall had given her made her doubt.

She didn’t want an easier exam than everyone else, but she couldn’t help thinking that she had received one. Even the three essay questions she had at the end were extremely easy.

Soon enough, Lily was finished, and she raised her hand for McGonagall to come collect it. Hermione was the only one who had finished before her, and the bushy-haired, buck-toothed friend gave her a smile of encouragement when she saw who had finished next. Lily returned the smile, although weakly.

McGonagall called people alphabetically by last name for the practical portion, and the students who finished didn’t come back to the original classroom. McGonagall held it in a separate room, just like Charms had. But unlike Charms, the students weren’t allowed back into the original room. Lily wondered why Flitwick didn’t do that as well.

“Potter, Hazel,” McGonagall called from the other room. Her voice was magically amplified so that it carried far enough to reach the students. Lily rose, wondering why McGonagall had used her actual name. She hadn’t done that since the sorting.

Lily was nervous, but tried to carry herself with confidence. Confidence was key, she had read over and over again in every single help book.

“Have a seat, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said when Lily entered. Lily did so, taking out her wand.

McGonagall set a mouse down in front of Lily. “Turn it into a snuffbox, please.” She stood a few feet away, waiting.

Lily frowned. “Professor?”

“Yes?”

“Did you give me an easier exam than the others?” Lily watched the professor while she spoke, ignoring the mouse sniffing around the desk.

McGonagall looked surprised. “Of course not, Potter. When have I ever given anyone preferential treatment?”

Lily’s brow furrowed. “Then why was the written exam so easy? Why is the practical just turning a mouse into a snuffbox?”

McGonagall frowned, looking far more stern than she had before. “Miss Potter, I would not give you an easier exam than every other student, even if I do believe that you deserve one. That would be insulting to not only you, but for every other first year. As for why the exam was so easy, I certainly hope it was, considering how hard you’ve studied for it.”

“But my first question was just a one-word answer, while everybody else had to write a lot more.”

McGonagall rolled her eyes. “Miss Potter, I always give each student the same questions for every exam, but every student always gets them in a different order. If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to ask Miss Granger and Mr. Longbottom when you leave. I’m certain they’re already talking about it.” She gestured to the mouse sitting patiently on the desk. “Now, if you would please, turn the mouse into a snuffbox.”

“Why aren’t we doing _Avifors_?”

“Miss Potter, I have never had a student ask me as many questions as you do. Not even Miss Granger, although she certainly comes in a close second. You are using a mouse because it is the most appropriate spell for the skill level of a first year. _Avifors_ will most certainly be covered again next year; it’s meant as a bridge between the two semesters. Now, if you will please, _turn the mouse into a snuffbox._ ”

Lily looked down at the mouse, who was looking back up at her, expecting something. She pointed her wand at it. “ _Odorofors_ ,” she said. The mouse widened and grew taller, changing colors into a sky blue. Its form took the shape of a box, albeit a plain one.

McGonagall scooped it up, inspecting every inch of the box. “Adequate enough, Miss Potter. And I’m pleased to note there aren’t any mouse features left. You’ve made excellent progress. You may go now.”

Lily stood, not wanting to argue any further. She strode over to the door, hand resting on the knob. She didn’t want to ask any more question; she just wanted to be free.

“Wait, Miss Potter, I nearly forgot,” McGonagall said, walking over to her desk and opening a drawer. Lily took her hand off the doorknob, waiting as patiently as she could. Now that the exam was over, she was suddenly _very_ hungry, and she was hoping to grab some food before they went to Hagrid’s.

McGonagall tossed something silvery and sleek at Lily, and she caught it out of the air. Lily grinned, recognizing her father’s invisibility cloak.

“It’s time to return it,” McGonagall said, looking stern once again. “I must remind you that if I catch you wearing it again, I will be taking it. I wouldn’t have returned it until after the feast, but Professor Dumbledore insisted I do so before he left.”

Lily looked up, tucking the cloak under her robes. “Left, Professor?”

“Yes,” McGonagall repeated, “He’s at the Ministry for some urgent business. Won’t be back until tomorrow.” McGonagall came closer, staring directly into Lily’s eyes. “So, let me warn you, I _will_ be watching for any signs of you from here on out, Miss Potter. I don’t want to start the next year with even more detentions, as I’m sure you will agree. Good day, Miss Potter. Go relax. You’ve earned it.” McGonagall sat at her desk, dismissing her student.

Lily hurried out before McGonagall could change her mind. She was excited to try it out again, and she knew exactly where she wanted to go. All she needed to do was to figure out how to get past Fluffy, and Hermione had so thankfully agreed to tea.

Lily caught up to Neville and Hermione, who were waiting just down the hall.

“How did you do?” Hermione said nervously. She had been talking excitedly with Neville before, but had calmed once she saw Lily. Lily was surprised Hermione hadn’t noticed her sudden chipper attitude.

“It was easy,” Lily said in disbelief, but smiling widely. Hermione threw herself around Lily in excitement.

“I knew you could do it, Lily!” She said.

“I’m glad somebody did,” Lily said, returning the hug as tightly as she could. Now that it was behind her, she was relieved she’d be going onto the next year with her friends.

“Good job, Lily,” Neville said, looking like he wanted to join the hug but was too embarrassed to do so.

Ron joined them soon enough, and together, they made their way down to Hagrid’s hut. Hagrid had just finished carving a wooden flute when they arrived, and it set aside on the counter as he urged them all to enter.

“So, ‘ow did the exams go, then?” Hagrid asked as he poured tea for everyone. He made sure not to put anything in Lily’s, lest he earn a scolding from Gran.

“Potions was a disaster,” Ron said, accepting his cup. “I think I did well enough in the written to pass, but Snape gave us a zero in front of the whole class.” Neville didn’t look as happy about his prospects.

“He didn’t!” Hagrid said, astonished.

“He did! If I didn’t know better, I’d assume he’s onto us.”

Lily looked at Ron, confused. “Onto us for what?” she asked.

“Come on, Lily, the stone?”

Lily and Hagrid groaned together, while everybody else looked serious about it.

“You missed our discussion after your last detention, Lily,” Hermione said, while Neville and Ron nodded as backup. “We reckon he’ll go for it any day, now that he knows how to get past Fluffy.”

Lily and Hagrid looked at each other in confusion. “How’d he find out how to get past Fluffy?” Hagrid asked.

“Well, you told him, didn’t you?” Ron said. “At least, that’s what we assumed. It just seemed likely.”

“I most certainly did not,” Hagrid said in disbelief. “Snape’s never even asked about Fluffy. Matter of fact, last person that did were you lot, and before that it was at the bar.”

“The bar?” Lily asked. The other three first years looked excited, but Lily hadn’t quite put it all together yet.

“Sure, I told yeh I won Norbert there, didn’ I? We got to talkin’ ‘bout the pets we keep, and I mentioned Fluffy. Fella seemed very interested, not every day you see a three-headed dog, yeh know?”

Ron, Hermione, and Neville all nodded their head in agreement, urging Hagrid to continue. Lily briefly considered stopping him, but seeing as how she also wanted to get past Fluffy for her own personal reasons, she wasn’t going to actually do it.

“What did you tell him, Hagrid?” Ron said, trying to coerce the man. Lily realized that they all figured out what the bar man had been after a week ago, and had simply elected not to tell her. She was briefly offended, but then remembered all the things she had stupidly kept a secret. She sipped her tea, deciding fair is fair.

“Well, he just wanted to make sure I could handle the dragon, didn’ he? So, I told him Fluffy’s a piece o’ cake, so long as yeh know how to calm him down. Jus’ play him a piece o’ music, and he’ll go straight ter sleep.” Hagrid smiled, thinking fondly of his puppy. Then he snapped to attention, eyes going wide. “I shouldn’ta told you that, no I shouldn’ have.”

“Well, that’s it, then,” Ron said. “Snape knows how to get past Fluffy, so he’ll make his move as soon as Dumbledore is gone.”

“We’ll have to tell him,” Hermione said, standing. Ron and Neville quickly joined her. Lily remained seating, sipping her tea.

“Lily, aren’t you coming?” Neville asked.

“No,” Lily said, allowing Hagrid to pour her another cup.

“Why not?” Ron said, not believing what he was hearing.

“Because Dumbledore is gone,” Lily said, taking another sip. “McGonagall told me after my exam.”

“Then let’s tell McGonagall!” Hermione said. “She’ll sure make sure Snape doesn’t-“

“That does it,” Hagrid interrupted. He strode forward, pushing the three first years toward the exit. “If yeh can’ believe that Snape is helpin’ protect the stone, then yeh can go. Have a nice day, be sure to write, I’d love to have yeh again.”

“But, Hagrid,” Ron said, “What about-“

“G’day,” Hagrid said, closing the door on them. He turned back around to Lily. “I don’t ‘spose you’re stayin’ after that show?”

Lily stood, setting down her empty cup. “No, I better go too. Don’t want them getting mad at me.”

“G’day to you too, then, and, really, don’ be a stranger,” Hagrid said, opening the door for Lily. Lily grabbed the countertop flute as he turned around, tucking it into her robe. Then she made her exit.

“Good day, Hagrid,” she said as he closed the door behind her. Lily jogged to catch up to the others, who had gone on ahead.

“I still think we should tell McGonagall,” Hermione said, biting her lip. “I don’t understand why you two are so against it!”

“If you do that, I’ll never be able to sneak in,” Lily said.

The other three looked at her curiously.

“How do you expect to do that?” Ron said.

“Why would you want to do that?” Neville said.

“Lily, you’re going to get in trouble again!” Hermione said.

Lily smiled. “I’ve got a secret weapon, this time,” she said, patting her pocket.

“Oh, what’s that, then?” Ron said, rolling his eyes.

“McGonagall gave me back my cloak,” she said, humming her tune of “Hoggy Warty Hogwarts.”

“She didn’t,” Ron said, ecstatic. “That’s brilliant, we can go stop Snape ourselves then!”

Hermione bit her lip. “Lily, we should go tell McGonagall, it’s too dangerous to go ourselves.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Hermione, if we tell McGonagall, she won’t believe us, and then she’ll take my cloak again to make sure we can’t go.” Lily paused, then decided honesty was the best medicine. “Hermione, I think the mirror is down there. This could be my last chance to see my parents.” Lily sniffed unexpectedly, suddenly emotional.

Hermione pursed her lips, and crossed her arms. “I still don’t think we should go. Dumbledore said the mirror was dangerous, Lily, you shouldn’t be looking for it.”

“You don’t have to come, then,” Ron said. “I’m definitely going, I missed the last adventure.”

“Do I have to go?” Neville asked. Lily shook her head, trying to get back into her excellent mood from before.

“Only if you want to,” Lily said. “But the cloak can only fit three people, so it’s good Hermione volunteered to stay behind.” Lily turned to wink at her friend, but then stopped upon seeing her offended expression.

“I did not!” Hermione said. “I just said-“

“That we shouldn’t be going at all,” Ron said. “I agree with Lily, if you’re gonna make a fuss about it, then you shouldn’t go.” That was not at all what Lily had meant, and she opened her mouth to say so. She had only meant it as a tease, like they had all been doing to her about her Transfiguration work.

“If you’re all so determined to go, then I’ll just go see McGonagall by myself!”

Lily bit her lip. “Hermione, you can’t tell McGonagall.”

“And why is that? Lily, we are in over our heads here, we should at least _try_ to get help!”

“Hermione, you can’t tell her,” Lily repeated, grabbing the other girl’s arm. “I’m not asking. You can’t tell her.”

“Lily, I promise, if she won’t listen, then I’ll go with you to the corridor, but we at least have to-“

“No,” Lily said, as forcefully as she could. “I have to go, Hermione, this is my last chance, and if you tell her, then you’ll ruin everything!”

Hermione’s face turned red. “Fine, then, if you all want to go get yourselves killed, then be my guest, but don’t come crawling to me when you get caught again. You’re going to get Gryffindor into even more trouble, all of you, and I won’t be a part of it.” Hermione started to turn, but Lily grabbed onto her arm, wanting to apologize. Hermione whirled to look Lily in the eyes, her face full of anger. “Let go, Lily, you can’t tell me what to do.”

Lily let go, horrified at Hermione’s response. She hadn’t expected this. Hermione stormed off, not bothering to look back.

“Well,” Ron said, “That could have gone better.”


	19. After the Stone

It took hours for them to convince Neville. After the dragon adventure, he had been unwilling to attend another, but he came around. Lily had wanted to offer the spot to Hermione, but they couldn’t find her anywhere, not even in the library. She wasn’t even in the Great Hall for supper time when the other three arrived.

“She probably ratted us out to McGonagall,” Ron said over his plate of ham.

“Hermione wouldn’t do that,” Lily said.

“Not without trying to convince us again,” Neville added. Lily pouted. She didn’t think Hermione would do it even then. Lily thought she was just hurt by what Ron had said.

“Well, then she needs to get it over with,” Ron said. “I can’t stand not knowing whether or not McGonagall knows. I swear I keep catching her looking at us.”

“I think she’s just checking to make sure I’m not sneaking off anywhere,” Lily said, glancing up at the staff table. “But if she already knew, she would have already pulled me aside.”

“We should just apologize to Hermione and let her take my spot,” Neville mumbled. Lily nodded in agreement.

“Not a chance, mate,” Ron said, “Hermione gets to go on adventures all the time, it’s our turn.”

“Ron,” Lily said, “Neville has been on the last two.”

“I know,” Ron said ,”I was referring to me and you.”

“Then why can’t she take my spot?” Neville said.

“Because with the troll adventure from the first semester, Hermione has the highest total of all of us.” Ron put his fork down so he could count off his fingers. “I’ve had the troll adventure, so that’s one. Neville’s had the dragon and the forest, that’s two. Lily’s had the troll and forest, that’s two. But Hermione has had the troll, dragon, _and_ forest. That puts her at three.” Ron picked his fork up again, satisfied with his work.

“You’ve been keeping score?” Neville asked, sounding amused. Lily thought he sounded a bit proud to be tied for second.

“Of course I have, I’m in last. You two will be caught up after tonight, but I’ll still be behind.”

“I’m gonna go find Hermione,” Lily said, getting up. She hadn’t been able to eat as much with her friend avoiding her. At the very least she wanted to apologize before they left for the third floor.

Lily checked everywhere she could think to look: the library, every girl’s bathroom, a whole bunch of empty classrooms, and even McGonagall’s office (although that had made her feel bad for doubting Hermione). She had to use _Alohomora_ to sneak in there while the professor was still at dinner, and had worried the whole time that she’d walk right around the corner at any moment. Hermione was nowhere to be found.

“She’ll show up eventually,” Ron said once Lily returned to the common room. “She has to be back before curfew.”

“I think I’ll head up to bed,” Lily said, feeling down. “I’ll meet you two down here at midnight, then?”

“Make it half before,” Ron said, “We should get a head start. Don’t wanna get there right after Snape finishes up, you know?”

Lily nodded, heading for her staircase. Ron and Neville walked towards their own. Lily was pretty sure Ron just wanted a nap. She didn’t think Neville would be able to relax at all.

“Don’t forget the cloak,” Neville said. Lily waved it off. She hadn’t taken it out of her robes since McGonagall gave it back to her, and she wasn’t planning on taking it out now. She’d just lay in bed with what she was currently wearing; that way, she wouldn’t have to try dressing in the dark, risking waking up the other girls.

Lily closed the curtains around her bed, waiting for the other girls to come in. Weasley laid next to her, fast asleep. She scratched his belly, taking comfort in the simple things.

Lavender and Parvati came in after a few hours, giggling about some nonsense. Lily couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. She continued staring at the ceiling, counting the minutes.

Eventually, all she could hear was the soft snoring of the other girls. Lily slipped out between her curtains, trying not to disturb Weasley, who was still in her bed. She assumed it was because she moved around far less when she wasn’t actually trying to sleep.

Lily noticed Hermione’s curtains were now closed, and she let out a sigh of relief. She hadn’t heard Hermione come in, but she was relieved her friend was safe, even if she hadn’t said anything. She’d make sure she apologized in the morning.

Lily crept down the stairs as quietly as she could, doublechecking her robes to make sure the cloak was still there. Ron and Neville were already in the common room, waiting for her.

“Did you grab the cloak?” Ron asked quietly.

Lily took the cloak out of her robes, gesturing for the two to come closer.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Hermione asked, sitting up from the armchair she had been sitting in. The other three jumped; they hadn’t noticed her, and thought the common room had been empty.

Lily bit her lip. Now didn’t seem the time to apologize. “We’re going to the forbidden corridor, you know that.”

“Are you sure I can’t convince you otherwise? The mirror isn’t safe, Lily, you know that.” Hermione crossed her arms, which she always did when she was being bossy.

“I want to see it anyway. It’s my last chance, Hermione, even if Dumbledore leaves it there for next year we won’t get another chance to sneak in.” Lily handed the cloak to Ron, and then walked forward, closer to Hermione. She was going to go ahead and apologize, and then they’d hug and make up.

“You can’t go, Lily,” Hermione said, moving her arms to rest her hands on her hips, which she _really_ meant business. “I won’t let you.”

Lily stopped in her tracks, a few feet away from Hermione. “What do you mean you won’t let me?”

“You’re going to get in trouble, Lily. McGonagall is going to catch you, and you know it.”

Lily felt her face flush in anger. “You told McGonagall, then? I stuck up for you, Hermione!”

“Of course I didn’t! I thought you’d come to your senses, I thought you were smarter than this!”

“Come on, Lily, let’s just go,” Ron said, grabbing her arm. “What’s Hermione going to do?”

Hermione pulled out her wand, pointing it at Ron, who backed up. “I’m going to stop you. Go back up to bed, and we can all forget this happened.”

“Hermione,” Neville said, backing up, “If this is just because Ron said you couldn’t come, he was just joking, that’s all. So was Lily. You can have my spot if you want.”

“Yeah,” Ron said, throwing his friend under the bus, “You’d be handier, anyway. Besides, I thought you wanted to stop Snape! This is our only chance, Hermione!”

Hermione hesitated, biting her lip. “Of course I want to stop Snape,” she said. “But it’s not too late, we can still go get McGonagall! If you had just let me do it earlier, I would have gone with you without protest!”

“Hermione,” Lily said, putting her hand on her own wand, “You had all day to say something. Why didn’t you?”

“Because I didn’t want to just turn you in! You should have just come with me, McGonagall would have listened to both of us, she would have helped!”

“She would have just taken the cloak away again, Hermione!” Lily said, trying to keep her voice down. If Percy heard and came downstairs right now, that’d be the worst possible outcome.

“You don’t know that, Lily!” Hermione said. “And even if she did, maybe it’s better that way! We’re just kids, what are we supposed to do against Snape? We could get ourselves killed!”

“Hermione, we’re going. Are you really going to stop us?” Lily looked her friend in the eyes. Her hand tightened around her concealed wand. “You can still come with us, Hermione. I want you to come.”

Hermione paused, biting her lip again. Her wand dipped slightly. “Please don’t make me,” she said at last. Lily hesitated for only a moment, torn about what she was about to do.

Lily pulled out her own wand, pointing it at Hermione. “ _Petrificus Totalus_ ,” she said. Hermione froze, arms snapping to her sides, and then she fell backwards, onto the ground. Hermione’s eyes darted around, before narrowing in on Lily. Lily bit her lip, feeling regret. She didn’t know how to undo the charm, though, so there was no going back now.

“What was that?” Ron asked, surprised. “I can’t believe you’d jinx Hermione!”

Lily bent down, looking into Hermione’s eyes. Her eyes were watering, clearly upset. “I’m sorry, Hermione,” Lily said. “For everything that happened today. But I have to go. It’s my last chance.” Lily stood up.

“You need to see the mirror that badly?” Neville asked.

“Yes,” Lily responded.

“So long as we stop Snape, I don’t care what you do with the mirror,” Ron said. “You can hang it in your room, if you want.”

Neville glanced down at Hermione. “Should we really just leave her like this?”

“The body-bind will wear off in thirty minutes or so,” Lily responded. “I didn’t put that much effort into it, or it’d last longer.” Lily threw the cloak over her and Ron, leaving a space for Neville to join in. Once he was also under, she let it drop, fully covering the three. There wasn’t an abundance of room, but it was large enough to fully cover everything.

“I’m sorry, Hermione,” Lily said as they began walking to the exit. She could only hope Hermione wouldn’t hold it against her.

The Fat Lady grunted when the portrait swung open, as if she had been rudely awoken. She was quickly back to snoring in no time, and the three first years proceeded down the hallway.

“Maybe we should go back,” Neville whispered as they made it to the staircase.

“Shhhhh,” Lily said. “Be quiet, we’re invisible, they can still hear us.”

“It’s too late now anyway, Neville,” Ron said, “We can’t just go back.”

“Will you be quiet,” Lily said. “McGonagall knows about the cloak, she could be anywhere.”

“Sorry,” Ron and Neville said at once. Lily groaned.

They had to make a brief stop on the fourth floor when they ran into Mrs. Norris. The cat stared at their position for a while, and Lily was sure it could see them. Neville seemed like he wanted to make a run for it, and Ron held onto his arm to keep him in place. Finally, the cat walked away, and they waited for her to disappear around a corner before they continued.

_“Alohomora,”_ Lily whispered when they reached the door to the forbidden corridor, wand pointed at the knob. The door clicked, and Lily quickly pushed it open. She dragged the other two in with her, then pushed the door closed behind her. She made the conscious decision to not lock it behind them, in case they needed to make a quick escape.

Fluffy was sound asleep, to Lily’s surprise. She had been expecting to use the flute she borrowed from Hagrid’s Hut. There was a harp standing in the corner of the room, playing a slow melody. There was nobody else in the room, aside from the first years and the giant monster. Lily took the cloak off of them, storing it in her robes.

“Snape must have bewitched the harp,” Ron said, plucking a string on the harp. Lily glared at him, and his ears turned red. “Sorry.”

Lily took out the flute, and handed it over to Neville. “Keep that at the ready, just in case it wakes up.” Lily motioned for Ron to follow her; Fluffy had a paw over the trap door, and she’d need help moving it.

“I don’t know how to play the flute,” Neville said, still standing near the door.

“Neither do I,” Lily said as she and Ron pushed the heavy paw off the trapdoor. Ron grunted as he pushed, exerting himself more than he was used to.

Lily pulled at the door, and it swung right open. She leaned down, looking into the void.

“I can’t see anything,” Ron said. Lily couldn’t see anything either. She wished she knew how to cast a light source that wasn’t attached to her wand, or had at least thought to bring a lantern.

Neville managed to make his way forward, standing right next to the others. He crouched, looking down. Lily noticed that the room was now eerily quiet. She glanced around, biting her lip when she saw that the harp stings were no longer moving.

“Should we jump?” Ron suggested.

“Yes,” Lily said in a high-pitched whine. The head nearest her had opened its eyes, and was now staring right at her. It blinked a few times in surprise, trying to clear its vision. Then the eye narrowed, and the head lifted up. It nudged its neighbor, which opened an eye, and then nudged its other neighbor when it saw Lily staring right at it.

Lily pushed Neville down into the hole, following quickly afterwards. Her hand barely missed Ron as she slipped. Neville let out a shout as he fell, and Lily screamed after him. She hit the ground hard, although it was softer than she had imagined it would be. She rubbed her back, trying to soothe the pain.

“You alright?” Ron called down from above.

“Ron!” Lily shouted. “Jump! Fluffy!”

“Fluffy?” Ron said, followed immediately after by, “Oh, no.”

Seconds later, Ron hit the ground nearby, and Fluffy’s barking could be heard from overhead. It was all they could hear, matter of fact, until the dog gave up. Fluffy settled for growling occasionally between sniffing, trying to figure out what happened to the intruders.

“Do you still have the flute, Neville?” Lily asked, laying back on a pile of leaves. She was thankful they had been there to break her fall.

“No,” Neville said, groaning. “I broke it.”

Ron groaned. “How did you manage that?”

“I fell on it.”

“I guess we’re stuck here, then,” Lily said, trying to pull out her wand. A vine had somehow gotten tangled around her leg, but she managed to get it out. “Lumos,” she said.

The room filled with light, and Lily panicked. It wasn’t just her leg that had gotten tangled up, it was all of her. She tried to get up, but the vines tightened around her chest, holding her in place.

“What’s happening?” Ron asked, trying to fight off the vines that had gotten around him. “What is this?”

“It’s Devil’s Snare!” Neville shouted, somehow managing to be excited. “Don’t fight it, it’ll only pull you tighter!”

“Well, that’s easier said than done, isn’t it?” Ron said, continuing to fight against the plant. It was now trying to grab him around the neck, which only seemed to make him panic more.  
Lily was quite like Ron. Despite Neville’s advice, she found that she couldn’t just sit still while something was trying to strangle the life out of her.

“What do we do, Neville?’ Lily asked as the plant tightened around her chest, trying to crush her lungs.

“It doesn’t like light and fire,” Neville said, slowing reaching for his wand. “ _Lumos_ isn’t enough, we need something better.”

_“Incendio,_ ” Lily said, pointing her wand at her legs. Her voice was quiet, but fire still flew from her wand. The plant quickly recoiled, letting her legs go free. Unfortunately, her robes were now on fire, and her legs were overwhelmed with pain.

Lily swore loudly, jumping up and swatting at her legs with her hands, and then swore again when those hurt.

“What are you doing?” Ron yelled, “You’re a witch, your wand in your hand!”

Lily pointed at her legs, shouting “ _Aguamenti_ ,” to create a stream of water. Tears streamed down her face. She managed to put out the flames, but they had gotten through her leggings, and she could see that her skin was bright red and burnt. Her hands stung as well, but to nowhere near the same degree. She was sure she’d feel embarrassed if she wasn’t in so much pain.

“Help!” Ron shouted. “Help!” The vines had managed to pin him completely, and his screams were cut off as the Devil’s Snare bound his neck and face. His wand laid a few feet away.

Lily pointed her wand at the plant, trying to aim a safe distance away from Ron. “ _Incendio!_ ” She said. Flames erupted from a spot near Ron, close enough to scare away the plant but not close enough to harm the Weasley boy.

Neville ran over to Ron, helping to pull him free. Ron ran to the far wall as soon as he was able, bent over, trying to catch his breath. Lily could hear him swear under his breath, and she had to agree, with the pain coming from her legs. She wiped her eyes, trying to steel her grit.

“Do you think I’d be able to take some back with me?” Neville asked, unable to read the room. He scooped Ron’s wand off the ground.

“I think Gran would murder you,” Lily replied, “Assuming the plant doesn’t do it first.”

Neville frowned, then looked up at the ceiling. Lily’s wand was still producing light, and they could see Fluffy watching from above. The dog seemed more curious now than angry. “How do we get back up?” Neville asked.

“We can’t without the flute,” Lily said, patting Ron on the back as he coughed.

“But we need to get your legs treated,” Neville said, looking worried.

“Don’t worry about me,” Lily said, trying not to limp. “I’ll be fine. Let’s just keep moving.” Lilt spotted a door in the corner of the room, and walked towards it. It was unlocked, and she threw it open.

The first thing Lily noticed as she walked into the next room was a constant buzzing noise coming from above. The second thing she noticed, as she looked up, was a rather large amount of birds fluttering in the air. This room seemed a lot taller than it should be, as there was a vast amount of airspace.

Lily walked forward, spotting a door on the other side of the room. She found it was locked, and when she tried the unlocking charm, it didn’t work

“Did you know the unlocking charm doesn’t always work?” Lily asked the two boys as they followed in behind.

“Well, of course not,” Ron said, still in a foul mood. “If it was foolproof, it’d probably be a banned spell, and not even Gringotts would be safe. There’d be break ins everywhere.”

“Why don’t wizards rob muggle banks more?” Lily asked. “I mean, they don’t have access to the same protections wizards do.”

“Muggle money is worthless, Lily,” Ron said, rolling his eyes. “What would be the point? You can’t use it for anything.”

Neville tried pulling the door open next, even though the result was inevitably going to be the same. He frowned, staring at the door. Ron looked up, watching the birds up above.

“I reckon we have to catch one of those keys,” he said.

“Keys?” Lily asked, glancing up.

“Yeah. The keys, see?” Ron pointed at the flock of birds, and Lily gasped. She hadn’t even considered the possibility that they weren’t birds but, sure enough, they were a flock of winged keys of all shapes and sizes. She squinted, trying to find one that seemed right.

“Which one is it?” Neville asked.

“I figure we need to use those,” Ron said, pointing at a set of brooms that had been laid against the far wall. “We’ll have to find the right one in the air.”

“I don’t think so,” Lily said, spotting a key that had bent and broken wings. She pointed her wand at it, wondering if her idea would work. “ _Diffindo,_ ” she said.

The key’s wings were cut off, and it plummeted to the ground. It clanged against the floor, the echo filling the room. Ron and Neville stood there, mouths dropped open.

“I can’t believe that worked,” Ron said.

“It seemed easier than flying,” Lily said.

“How’d you even see it up there?” Neville asked, squinting up towards the ceiling.

“I made seeker for a reason,” Lily said, sniffing.

“Why didn’t you want to fly, then?” Ron asked.

“Those are school brooms, Ron, they’re terrible. It’d take forever to catch that key.” Lily picked the key up off the ground, then jogged towards the door. She slammed it into the door and turned it. The door clicked, and Lily pushed it open, then tossed the key back onto the ground behind her. “See? That was much easier.”

Lily walked into the next room, Ron following behind her while grumbling. Lily assumed Neville was following as well, just not as grumpily. Lily resisted the urge to rub her burns, desperate for any sort of relief; that was the real reason she hadn’t wanted to fly.

The next room was set up like a giant chessboard, the pieces several times the size of the first years. Lily crossed her arms, wondering if they’d just be able to walk across.

“I think we’re supposed to play,” Ron said.

“Should I make a break for it anyway?” Lily asked. “I have to be faster than stone, right?”

“I think it’s worth a shot,” Neville said. “You saved a lot of time in that last one.”

“I wanted to play the game,” Ron said, grumbling. Lily took up a sprinter’s position, readying herself. Her burns protested in pain, and brought more tears to her eyes, but she managed to hold them back this time.

“What’s that?” Ron and Neville asked.

She looked up at the two, holding her stretched out position. “It’s a runner’s stance?” She said.

Ron and Neville exchanged curious looks with each other. “Muggles,” Ron said, shrugging.

Lily sighed, but launched up, running as fast as she could. She passed the white side without resistance, then managed to get past the black pawns, who drew their swords. She almost made it past the queen too, was nearly there, but suddenly a stone hand grabbed the back of her neck and tossed her a dozen feet.

Lily landed hard on the middle of the board, falling feet first. She tried to catch herself, but she slipped, and fell into a pile on the floor.

“Lily,” Neville said, running forward. He kneeled down next to her, crouching on the floor.

“M’okay,” Lily muttered, burying her face into her hands. She slapped her cheeks, trying to regain her composure. Now wasn’t the time to get embarrassed from making a fool of herself.

She tried to stand, but her ankle sparked up in pain, and she collapsed to one knee, sucking in her breath.

“You’re not okay,” Neville said, helping her to her feet. She threw an arm around his shoulder, making a pouting face.

“I didn’t need your help,” she said.

“There’s nothing wrong with needing help, Lily,” Neville said. “Isn’t that right, Ron?”

“Sure,” Ron said, rolling his eyes, knowing full well he never asked for help himself.

Neville set Lily against the far wall. “What do we do now?” he asked. “Lily’s hurt, but we can’t go back.”

“We could throw her over one of the brooms,” Ron said, thumbing into the direction of the previous room. “Her ankle won’t slow down her flying.”

“No!” Lily quickly said, thinking of the prize that lay ahead. She blushed when the boys looked down at her with a pair of matching frowns. “I mean, we can’t let Snape get the stone, can we? We can’t go back!”

“You just want the mirror,” Ron said, rolling his eyes. “You said so yourself.”

“Yeah, Lily, it’s time to give up,” Neville said. “We lost.”

“Ron’s the best there is at chess,” Lily said. Ron blushed as a response, and she knew she had him. “We’ll get past this challenge in no time, and we’ll go stop Snape together.”

“I say we go for it, Neville,” Ron said. Lily gave herself a silent cheer.

“Fine,” Neville said. “But we’ll play without Lily. She’s hurt.”

“I can sit on one of the horsies!” she said, not wanting to be left out.

“One of the horsies, she says,” Ron said in a mocking tone. He laughed to himself as the Queen’s knight voluntarily stepped down from his steed. The white knight scooped Lily into his arms, causing the girl to squeak as a response, and then set her on top of the horse. He walked away into one of the far corners, waiting for the game to start.

“You take a bishop, then, Neville,” Ron said, taking control.

“What’ll you do, then?”

“Well,” Ron said, rubbing his neck, “I was going to take a knight myself, but I don’t see any point in two of us having one, you know?”

“You could take the King’s spot,” Neville said, taking up his own position after the bishop had voided it.

“Nah,” Ron said. “It’s too vulnerable.”

“How about the Queen?” Lily said, sniggering to her own suggestion.

Ron opened his mouth to protest, but before he could do so, the white Queen left her position, bowing to Ron. Ron shut his mouth, ears turning red. Lily only laughed harder, unable to contain herself.

Ron took up his position, ears still glowing. “Right, then, we’ll have to go first.” Ron glanced around, pointing at a nearby pawn. “You, there, move forward two.” The pawn obeyed, quickly moving forward two spaces.

Black moved in response, sending their own pawn forward, and then the game was afoot. Ron moved a few more pawns forward, testing the waters, moving Lily forward once she had the space to maneuver. Lily clutched tightly to the stone horse’s neck as it moved, not wanting to fall off.

Soon enough, Ron sacrificed his first pawn, trying to drag out the enemy’s bishop. The bishop smashed the pawn to pieces, causing all three of the first years to fall silent. None of them wanted to be on the receiving end of an attack now, and they realized that this wasn’t just a fun little game after all.

Ron nearly got himself captured when he took one of the enemy’s castles, and he let out an audible sigh of relief when the enemy’s queen moved past him, heading towards their back row.

“Ron,” Lily said, biting her lip after she took a stray pawn to open a path forward. “How close are we?” She glanced back behind her, and couldn’t help but notice that they had fewer pieces.

Ron was silent for a moment, staring over at Neville.

“Ron?” Neville asked. “What’s wrong?”

“We can win next turn,” Ron said. “But I’ll have to sacrifice you or me.”

“You can’t!” Lily said, grabbing her head with both hands to pull at her hair.

“It’s that or we surrender,” Ron said. “It’s our only winning move. If one of use can drag the queen to take us, then other can take the King, and it’ll all be over. If we don’t then the Queen takes our king in two moves.”

Neville stood there silently while Lily tried to calm herself down, hands moving down to pull at her tie instead.

“Ron, we can just go,” Lily said, giving up. “I don’t need to see the mirror anymore, we don’t have to do this.”

“It’s not about the mirror,” Ron said, scoffing, “It’s about stopping Snape!”

“Snape isn’t down here, Ron!”

“Well, somebody is, aren’t they? You saw the harp, it wasn’t just there for storage. Either we go on ahead, or whoever it is steals the stone.” Lily bit her lip, fully removing her tie from her neck. She stuffed it into one of her pockets, then loosened her collar. She needed the extra air.

“I’ll go,” Ron said, sounding resolute.

“No,” Neville said, already walking forward into range of the Queen. His voice sounded shaky, as if he was about to cry or pass out.

“Neville,” Ron said, pulling at his own hair, “What are you doing? I’m supposed to-“

Neville stopped within the Queen’s range, standing on shaky legs. “We wouldn’t have won without, you should go on instead.” The began moving forward, heading straight towards Neville.  
“This isn’t fun anymore,” Lily said, voice raising in pitch, “Let’s just go, we can still surrender.”

“It’s too late,” Ron said, choked up. Lily saw him wipe his face with his robe sleeve, then she turned around in horror as the queen reached Neville.

The queen rose her stone scepter, and then swing it brutally into Neville’s chest. Lily heard a crack, and Neville flew across the board. The queen took a resting position, her attack taking only a fraction of a second.

“Neville!” Lily cried out. She started to slip from the horse’s saddle, ready to run for Neville’s side as he had done for her.

“Lily, stop!” Ron shouted.

Lily halted, turning to look back at Ron. “Ron, Neville is-“

“If you move, it’s all for nothing, Lily,” Ron said, running forward to stand next to the king. Ron turned to the statue, face pale. “Checkmate,” he said.

The king reached to his head, grabbed his crown, and then place it down at Ron’s feet. He began applauding Ron, and the rest of the statues followed suit, the broken ones included.

Lily dismounted as quickly as she could, sprinting towards Neville. She ignored the pain in her legs and ankle, despite them screaming at her to stop. She reached Neville, crouched down, and then threw her arms around him, crying openly. Neville was unconscious. His head was bleeding from where it had connected to the chessboard, but Lily could feel his breathing from where her head was resting on his chest.

“I’m sorry, Neville,” she sobbed, “We never should have come here, Hermione was right.”

“I’m sure she’ll be happy to say ‘I told you so’ when we get back,” Ron said, crouching down beside her. “But I need to get Neville to the Hospital Wing while I can. The brooms should be fast enough to get past Fluffy.”

Lily looked up, wiping her face with her sleeve. “I should go, I’m already injured.”

“No,” Ron said, trying to put on a smile. “The mirror is close by. You should get to see your parents one last time. I’ll take care of Neville, I promise.”

Lily choked up, then threw her arms around Ron. Ron tentatively put his arms around Lily, completing the hug. He broke it just as quickly, shoving her off of him.

“Go,” he said, picking up Neville from the ground. “Stop Snape, at least.”

Lily struggled to her feet, hugging Ron and Neville one last time. She sniffed as they went back towards the key room. She waved goodbye, and Ron returned it., Neville slung over his shoulder. She heard him swear something as he lugged the heavy-set boy through the doorway.

Lily turned, biting her lip. The other door was now available, the chessboard having been cleared. The chess pieces were picking up pieces of their comrades, putting them back together.

Lily hobbled forward slowly, and then threw the door open. She was immediately met by a foul stench, throwing her memories back to last Halloween. She hesitated, almost deciding to go back after Ron and Neville after all. The only way she could thing of to fight a troll was to blow up its club, but trolls were supposed to regenerate really quickly, and she didn’t think disarming it would be enough. She plucked up her courage, and then stepped inside to at least get a peek at it. She left the door open in case she needed to make a quick escape.

There was a troll in the room, alright, but it was laying on the ground already, dead as a stone. It was blue troll, completely different from the one that had died on Halloween. Lily had the brief thought of taking credit for both. She’d love to be called “Troll-Slayer.” Then she realized that Malfoy would absolutely turn that around on her, and she went through the next door instead, before the troll could somehow revive itself.

Lily hesitated as she stepped through the next door. There was a short staircase leading into, then a table with a set of potions on it, followed by another short staircase that went down towards the next door. She walked forward, determined to not let Ron and Neville down.

Fire burst from the ground as she neared the center, blocking off both exits. Purple flames blocked the way she had come from, while black flames blocked the way forward. Lily bit her lip, then turned to the table. A note laid on the table top, presenting a riddle.

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,_

_Two of us would help you, whichever you would find,_

_One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

_Another will transport the drinker back instead,_

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_

_Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line._

_Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,_

_To help in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

_First, however slyly the poison tries to hide_

_You will always find some on nettle wine’s left side;_

_Second, different are those who stand at either end,_

_But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;_

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,_

_Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;_

_Fourth, the second left and the second on the right_

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

Lily groaned. She hated riddles. The muggle teachers of her past had always laughed at her answers.

She eyed the bottle, having already forgotten most of the riddle. She glanced at the smallest bottle, noting that it was only half full. She picked it up and opened it. She gave it a sniff, and then chugged it down. The way she figured it, the person ahead of her must have already had a sip of the right one, since they hadn’t gone backwards, weren’t waiting in the room, and weren’t dead. Besides, they easily could have swapped the bottles around after deducing the right answer. No, this was the safest option for sure.

It felt like ice was flowing through her body, and Lily shivered, briefly worried that she had chosen one of the poison vials. She stood there, stretching her fingers, and wiggling her toes. Once satisfied she wasn’t about to drop dead, she limped towards the black fire. She’d worry about actually solving the riddle on the way back, now that one of the options was knocked out.

She hesitated for a moment, biting her lip. Then, she jumped forward, deciding it was to best to move quickly.

She passed through the fire unharmed, smiling to herself, then failed to stick the landing. She ended up on her bad foot first, and that ankle gave out with another sharp jolt of pain. Lily lost her balance, then tumbled down the stairs. She groaned when she hit the bottom. She was glad Ron and Neville hadn’t been there to see that last part, at least.


	20. The Mirror of Erised

Lily pulled herself off the ground after massaging her ankle for a little while. She winced as she put weight onto it. It was definitely worse off now after her fall down the stairs. She struggled towards the door, and then threw her weight against it to open it. She nearly collapsed on the other side, quickly grabbing onto the door handle to steady herself.

She fell down to one knee again, breathing hard. It was taking all her effort just to move forward now. She wished she had gone with Ron and Neville. This adventure wasn’t worth it. Even ignoring her ankle, the burns were only hurting more as time went on.

“Potter,” she heard coming from in front of her. Lily looked up, feeling absolutely drained. She sucked in a breath, her goal almost realized.

The Mirror of Erised was standing in the center of the room, looking just as beautiful as she remembered. It’s marble and gold edges glinted in the torchlight. She couldn’t see them from this distance, she was too far for the mirror to detect, but she could almost imagine her mom and dad waiting for her. She stood up, wanting to place herself in front of the mirror, to see her parents again. This would make all the suffering worth it.

“Stay where you are, Potter,” the voice repeated. Lily’s eyes snapped to the figure already in front of the mirror. She had almost forgotten why she was here in her eagerness.

“Good girl,” Professor Quirrell repeated. He smiled at Lily. His turban was as neat as ever, covering his head. He had his wand pointed at Lily, ready to strike should she try anything. “Stay there, and maybe you won’t have to die today.” Quirrell turned back around, staring into the mirror. He let his wand hand fall to his waist. Lily felt slightly offended that he’d turn his back, but she certainly didn’t feel like a threat at the moment.

Lily wracked her brain, trying to think of ways to get rid of Quirrell. She may have been able to take them if she wasn’t so exhausted; Quirrell had never seemed very adept in class. But that was assuming that he had revealed all that he was capable of. Lily frowned, remembering the dead troll a couple rooms past. She didn’t think she’d have been able to do that, but the professor had.

Lily sat back down, needing to get pressure off her ankle. She tried to think of ways to get Quirrell out of the way, aside from just blowing him up. That’d damage the mirror, too, and that would ruin the entire reason she had come for. It would make it worth it for Ron and Neville, though, so the option was still there.

“Surprised, Potter?” Quirrell said. Lily could see him smirking in the mirror’s reflection. “I’m sure you never expected poor st-st-st-stuttering P-P-P-Professor Quirrell, did you?”

“Actually,” Lily said, suddenly feeling more energetic, “I’ve been saying for weeks that you were the one after the stone. Everybody else thought it was Snape.”

Quirrell frowned, still staring into the mirror. “Yes, that fool was always in the way, wasn’t he? If it hadn’t been for his interference, I would have had the stone on Halloween.”

“You didn’t know how to get past Fluffy then,” Lily said, massaging her ankle again. If she was going to try anything, she’d need to be able to flee at the least. Hermione would kill her if she died here.

“Inconsequential,” Quirrell, said, waving his hand. “I could have blasted the thing away if I had wanted to, and that had been the plan. After the troll failed to cause a big enough distraction, however, I had to be more subtle. Couldn’t have all the staff come running up, catching me in the middle of my crime. I’ll admit, I hadn’t expected the troll to actually make it out of the dungeons.”

“So you gave Hagrid a dragon?” Lily briefly brushed against her burns, and then winced. They were too raw, and they stung constantly just from the air touching them. There was nothing she could do to ease that particular pain.

Quirrell laughed. “Yes, I suppose I did, Potter. I figured if the oaf could keep it alive, it would be a big enough distraction in and of itself, even if he didn’t tell me how to get past his insipid dog. I was disappointed when your foolhardy friends helped him get rid of the thing.”

Lily let the room fall silent. She was considering trying to leave. She didn’t think she could take Quirrell, she decided. She started trying to slide backwards, hoping Quirrell wouldn’t notice her. She hadn’t been able to see her surroundings during the time she had spent staring at the mirror.

“Did you know it was me that tried to knock you off your broom, Potter?” Quirrell said, apparently wanting to gloat.

Lily frowned, halting her progress in case Quirrell turned around. “No, I didn’t figure that one out. Why?”

“To kill you, of course,” Quirrell responded. “My master would have rewarded me greatly if Snape hadn’t interfered. I could have taken you in class at any time, of course, but what good would that do? I never would have been able to escape the castle before Dumbledore caught up to me. I thought it best to make it look like an accident, but Snape had to go and ruin that, too, with his cushioning charm.” Quirrell shook his head in disappointment, thinking of what could have been.

“Your master?” Lily repeated, trying to stall for time. It was the only thing he said that she could latch onto. She had never considered the idea that somebody would be after the stone for someone other than themselves.

“Yes, my master. You shall meet him soon enough. We would have had you in the forest for sure, but I admit, I hadn’t expected you to know the blasting charm, but then again, how was I supposed to guess what a stupid first year was capable of? I had been unprepared. Now I know, and you will die today.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Lily said, trying to sound confident. Her voice had cracked, unfortunately, so she didn’t think it had the desired effect.

Quirrell laughed loudly. “Oh, it’s only a matter of time, Potter. You will die, I will make certain of that. But first, I need to figure out how to get this blasted stone out of the mirror. Master will want to kill you himself, now that he’s so close.”

Quirrell continued staring into the mirror’s reflection. Lily briefly wondered what it was he saw in it, other than using the stone. Lily took this as her chance to escape. She’d come back for the mirror later, assuming Dumbledore would let her once he returned. She tried to stand up, edging her way out the door.

“Use the girl,” a voice said, coming from Quirrell’s direction. It was harsh sounding, almost like the speaker hadn’t had any water for years. Lily’s scar prickled, causing her to gasp, hand clutching it automatically.

Quirrell turned quickly, spying Lily trying to make her exit. “Come here, Potter,” he shouted, waving his wand towards Lily. Lily felt herself lift off the ground, and her hand missed the doorknob as she tried to grasp it.

Lily let out a cry of pain as she was dragged forward by an invisible force. She fell down, right in front of the mirror, legs throbbing. Quirrell grabbed her by the loose collar, and Lily let out a scream. As soon as the professor made contact, her scar exploded in agony. She almost collapsed again, but Quirrell held her steady. Lily grabbed at his hand, trying to get it off her, but it only caused the scar to hurt worse.

“Look into the mirror, Potter,” Quirrell said, shoving Lily’s face forward as he held her.

Lily’s eyes filled with tears, and she tried to blink them away. Her forehead felt like it was splitting apart. She tried to catch her breath, but it came in ragged gasps.

She looked into the mirror, seeing her reflection sobbing, her face covered in sweat. Her legs looked like they were in very bad shape, the burns wounds now a brighter red than they had been before.

Lily’s parents were standing behind her, nowhere near as happy as they had been before. Lily’s mother held a hand over her mouth, afraid for her daughter’s life. James looked like he was ready to attack, if only he wasn’t trapped in a mirror. His fists were clenched, and he was grinding his teeth as he stared at Quirrell.

Lily tried to smile, tried to feel happy. But she couldn’t, not like this. She wanted to spend time with her parents, tell them all about the friends she had made, about how much fun she was having at school. She didn’t want them to watch her die.

“Let her down,” the dry voice from before said from behind her. Quirrell dropped Lily, and she fell to her knees, barely able to hold herself up. She wiped her face, not wanting her parents to see her cry, at the very least. She was a Gryffindor, just like her parents, and she’d act brave like one.

“Look into the mirror, Potter,” Quirrell demanded. He grabbed her by the hair, yanking it backwards, forcing her to look at her own reflection. Lily cried out again, hands automatically clutching onto Quirrell’s wrist, only causing her scar to burst with more pain.

Lily’s mother bent down, trying to whisper soothing words to her daughter. Lily’s father continued glaring at her captor.

“It’s all right,” Lily heard. She gasped. Her mother’s voice was somehow reaching her. She thought she was going mad.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Hazel,” her father said. “We won’t let them hurt you.”

Tears welled in Lily’s eyes. “What are you-“

“What do you see, Potter?” Quirrell demanded, shaking Lily’s head. Lily cried out again, trying to shake loose.

“It’s okay, Hazel,” her mother said. “Just look at mommy, okay? Everything is going to be alright.” Her mother smiled although tears streamed down her face. Lily felt strangely comforted.

“My parents,” Lily said, answering Quirrell’s question.

Quirrell scoffed. “Ask them how to get the stone, Potter. Maybe they won’t continue to be a disappointment.”

“Don’t talk about them that way,” Lily said, suddenly angry.

“You are in no position to make demands, Potter,” Quirrell said, face full of fury.

“Let me talk to her,” the dry voice said.

Quirrell paled, then stood up straight, releasing Lily’s hair. “Are you sure, Master? You aren’t strong enough to-“

“I am strong enough to meet one small girl, Quirrell. Do not make me tell you again.” The voice spoke with quiet fury, daring Quirrell to test his authority.

“Yes, of course, Master,” Quirrell said, raising shaking hands to his turban. He began untying the cloth. “As you command, Master, for I am your humble servant.”

Lily took the moment to rest, her scar starting to calm down, despite the now constant throbbing.

“Don’t look at him, Lily,” her father said through the mirror. “Don’t let him scare you, whatever you do. That’s how he wins.”

“You can handle it, Lily, don’t listen to your father,” her mother said. “Be brave, help is coming, you just have to last a little while longer. Just don’t let him see you’re afraid, and he’ll have no power over you.”

Lily smiled, tears filling her eyes. She didn’t know how her mother could possibly know that help was coming, but it made her feel better regardless. If she could just hold out a little while longer, everything would be fine. She’d make it out of this, somehow.

Quirrell’s turban fell to the ground, and he ran his hands over his bald head, looking terrified. Lily continued watching him in the mirror.

“Turn around, Potter,” the dry voice said.

Lily stood, deciding bravery was the best option. She was a Gryffindor, after all. Her legs may be shaky and unable to hold her weight for long, but she’d meet her fate on her own two legs.

Quirrell hesitated, and then turned around. Lily steeled herself, trying not to show how scared she was.

The back of Quirrell’s head had another face. This second face had no nose, and the eyes glowed red. But the worst part was the mouth. It was long and wide, and the lips barely covered most of it. It most closely resembled a serpent’s mouth. Lily’s scar flared up again, and she almost lost her footing. She stood, legs shaking, hand covering her scar, trying to be defiant.

“Well,” the face said,” do you recognize me, Potter?”

As he spoke, Lily’s scar flared up again, and she couldn’t maintain her footing anymore. She collapsed, trying to breath in deeply, trying to hold it all together.

The face laughed, sounding much like a hissing snake. “Very good, Potter, very good. You were only a baby, but how could you forget the face of Lord Voldemort?”

Lily felt panic surging through her. She suddenly realized she didn’t want to die, but she could see no other outcome. If she had known what awaited her down here, she never would have come, never would have even considered it, even with the mirror down here. This wasn’t worth it, it wasn’t worth any of it.

“Stand up, Potter,” Lord Voldemort said. Lily looked up, head pounding, meeting Voldemort’s eyes. She flinched away, finding she couldn’t hide how terrified she was. Despite all her promises, despite all her achievements, she was still only an eleven-year-old girl.

“I said, stand, Potter. You shall die, in time, but I shall make it quick. Just get the stone, and you shall die painlessly. You have my word.”

Lily stood, refusing to look at You-Know-Who. She turned, then flinched when she could see him in the reflection. Lily’s mother was no longer crying. She was now standing by her husband, staring defiantly at You-Know-Who.

“He killed us, Hazel,” her father said, “but you don’t need to worry. You won’t die today. I promise. We’ll get you through this, together.”

Lily bit her lip, refusing to raise her eyes.

Her mother laughed, the sound bringing hope to Lily. “I used to do that, too, sweetie.” Lily looked up, desperately needing more.

Her father looked down, smiling now. Tears came to his eyes, and he quickly wiped them away. “You really do look just as beautiful as your mother. I’m so proud of you.”

Lily found she couldn’t speak. When she opened her mouth, no sounds came out. She could only let her tears fall in response.

“You have to break the mirror, sweetie,” her mother said. Lily shook her head in response, still unable to form words.

“You have to, Hazel,” her father said. “He can’t have the stone. He’ll never be stopped if he does.”

“I can’t do it,” Lily managed to say, voice full of pain.

“You have only one more chance, Potter,” You-Know-Who said coldly, misunderstanding the situation. “I am short on patience.”

“You have to do it, Lily, now,” her father said as he bent down to look her in the eyes. “We’ll always love you. Break us and run, sweetie, it’s the only way. Help is coming, but if you don’t make a break for it, they won’t reach you in time.”

Lily bit into her lip, pain coming as blood flowed. She let it go, closed her eyes, and nodded. “Okay,” she said, voice choking. She wiped the tears and the blood away, trying to meet her parents with a smile. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Very good, Potter,” You-Know-Who said, laughing. “Make it fast.”

“I love you so much,” her mother said, tears flowing down her face. “Goodbye, Lily,”

“Goodbye mom,” Lily said, wiping her face. “Goodbye dad.”

Lily saw Voldemort crinkle his face in amusement behind her.

She pulled her wand out quickly, pointing it straight at the mirror. Her father and mother smiled, and You-Know-Who’s face turned to horror. Lily genuinely smiled at that.

“ _Confringo_ ,” she said, blasting the mirror to pieces. The Dark Lord roared, trying to shove her aside with his backwards facing arms. Quirrell faced forward, taking the brunt of the shrapnel. Lily felt a shard enter her bad leg as she turned to run. She let a shout of pain, but continued running to the exit as quickly as she could, limping even harder than she had been before. Every step brought agony spiking through her body.

“After her, Quirrell,” He Who Must Not Be Named shouted.

Lily threw the door closed behind her. “ _Colloportus!_ ” she shouted, pointing her wand behind her. She ran through the black fire, running towards the purple.

As she neared it, elated that she’d get away, she flinched backwards as the heat hit her. Lily fell, losing her strength. She picked herself back up, running towards the table of potions, almost slipped on her own trail of blood.

“Oh god,” she said, pulling at her hair, biting straight through her lip again, “Oh god, which one is it?” She picked up two at once, chucking them after she decided they were nettle wine. She settled on two potions, a rounded one from the very end, and a small thin one from the middle. They looked completely different from the others. She heard a bang from the black fire, and wrenched open both at once, deciding she’d take the chance.

Ice ran through her body, and then her lungs were on fire. She couldn’t breathe, but she ran anyway, passing through the purple flames. She could hear Quirrell right behind her, and felt his hand nearly grab her before he pulled back, screaming in pain from the fire.

Lily ran past the troll, straight into the chessboard room, wheezing for every breath she took. The pieces had rearranged themselves, now that they were all put together again. Lily wheezed harder, slowing her pace. She coughed, covering her mouth, then found blood on her palms as she brought them down. She didn’t know if that was from her lip, or if she was actually dying.

She made it to the middle of the chessboard, clutching at her chest. Her heart was throbbing. She would have sworn, but she couldn’t get enough air to speak. She fell to her knees, clawing at the ground, trying to will herself forward.

The Dark Lord laughed behind her. “It seems we needn’t do anything after all, Quirrell,” he said. “She’s already dead.” His voice was still full of cold fury as he tried to feign amusement.

“Right you are, Master,” Quirrell said, voice cracking from his own fear.

Lily tried to crawl across the board, legs going limp behind her. Her vision was going blurry. She coughed again, bloody spittle covering the pristine marble underneath her.

“Strangle her, Quirrell,” a voice said, sounding miles away.

“Master?” Lily stopped crawling, and grabbed for her wand.

“I want to _feel_ her life leave her body.”

“As you command,” Quirrell said, striding over. Lily rolled onto her back, aiming her wand. She tried to fire off a spell, but her wand only shot a single spark that flopped uselessly onto the ground.

Quirrell straddled Lily, knocking her wand out of her hands. Lily groaned, feeling the rest of her strength leave her body. Quirrell wrapped his hands around Lily’s neck, and Lily’s scar exploded again, before fading quickly into numbness.

_I tried, Mum,_ she thought. _Tell dad I’m sorry._

“Goodbye, Hazel Potter,” she heard as her vision faded into nothingness.


	21. The End of Year

Lily felt light burning through her eyelids. She didn’t want to open them. She wasn’t ready to walk towards the light yet.

She coughed, her whole chest shaking with the effort. She tried to open her eyes, very briefly, but closed them from the strain of the light. She breathed in deeply, her lungs rattling. She coughed again from the attempt, then she laid back, feeling a soft pillow under her head.

She felt a cool cloth on her forehead, and she suddenly realized how hot her body was. And then she realized that she was still alive.

“Easy there, Potter,” Madame Pomfrey said, “Easy there. You’re okay. You have a fever still, but it should pass soon.”

“M-Madame,” Lily coughed out, voice raspy and throat sore. When she tried to speak again, it only resulted in another coughing fit.

“Drink this, Potter,” Pomfrey said, forcing a cup of cool liquid to Lily’s lips. Lily drank deeply, feeling the soothing drink flow down her lips. It had a disgustingly bitter taste, but it had the immediate effect of making Lily’s pain go away.

“Madame Pomfrey?” Lily asked, voice still raspy. She squinted in the bright light, managing to make out the kind old woman’s face. Opening her eyes briefly caused her headache to worsen, but it faded quickly.

“You’re in the Hospital Wing, Potter,” Madame Pomfrey said, standing up. She tossed the cloth back into a basin of water, then strode over to a cart of vials.

“I’m alive?” Lily asked, trying to clear her throat. She coughed again. Her lungs still felt like they were burning, now that the soothing liquid has dispersed through her body.

“Yes, lord knows how,” Madame Pomfrey said. “The professors got to you quickly enough. You got lucky, this time. By all rights, Snape’s poison should have killed you. You’re lucky he went with the antidote in hand, or you wouldn’t be laying here right now for what feels like the tenth time this year. Sometimes I just don’t understand Dumbledore. I argued from the beginning that bringing that stone into the castle would only cause trouble, and look who was right.”

“The professors?” Lily repeated, trying to reach for a glass of water that was laying out of reach. A bead of condensation dripped down the surface, Lily’s fingers barely hovering away from the cup.

“Yes, dear, Minerva came to your rescue with Severus. Your friend went and fetched them, screaming about how you were going to get yourselves killed. Quite right they were, it turns out.”

“Ron got to them that quickly?” Lily asked, giving up on the glass of water. Her body was too sore to stretch any further.  
“No, not the ginger, the girl. The one who sat outside the Hospital Wing after your Quidditch fall. What’s her name?”

“Hermione?” Lily asked.

“Yes, that’s the one,” Madame Pomfrey said. “Girl’s got a lot of sense, she does, far more than the rest of you.”

“Yeah,” Lily said,” she does.” Lily leaned back into her pillow, then reached up to her scar. She felt a tiny prickle of pain when she touched it, but it quickly went away. She remembered how it had felt when Quirrell touched her. She hoped to never feel it again.

“Poppy,” an aged voice said from the entryway. Lily and the nurse both turned their heads, spying Professor Dumbledore walking towards them. Lily hadn’t heard the headmaster come in. He was wearing the same purple robes and purple hat as always, and he was smiling despite everything that had happened.

“Headmaster?” Madame Pomfrey said, crossing her arms. “You shouldn’t be in here, Miss Potter needs her rest.”

“I must speak with young Hazel,” Professor Dumbledore said, pulling up a seat without permission.

“Headmaster, I must insist that Miss Potter-“

“I’m afraid it is nonnegotiable, Poppy. I promise I will be brief. I would not insist if it were not of the upmost importance.”

Madame Pomfrey huffed, but she left to her office anyway, slamming the door shut behind her. Lily would have left too, if she had been able. She wasn’t much in the mood for talking, especially since she had the feeling she was in deep trouble.

Dumbledore twiddled his thumbs, staring at Lily. Lily bit her lip, feeling uncomfortable, wishing the headmaster would at least get it over with.

“How are you feeling, Lily?” He said at last.

“Like I almost died, Professor,” Lily said with her crackly voice. She tried not to show her nervous she was.

Professor Dumbledore reached for the glass of water sitting next to him, and then handed it over to Lily, who accepted it with a genuine thanks. The water felt better going down her throat than the medicine had. It was the best thing Lily had ever tasted.

“You had me most worried, Lily. I thought you were quite dead when I saw you laying on the chessboard.” Dumbledore leaned back, dropping his stern gaze. His smile was still a small comfort, giving Lily hope that she wasn’t about to be expelled.

“I thought it was McGonagall and Snape who saved me, Professor.”

“Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape, Lily. And, yes, it was them, but I followed shortly behind. I was one my back from the Ministry, you see, and they sent young Ronald down to meet me in the Entrance Hall. I came as soon as I heard.”

Lily stared down at her feet, which were poking out from under the blanket. Her toes felt very cold. “What happened, Professor?”

“I don’t know all the details, although I believe I can piece together what happened. When I arrived, McGonagall was dueling Quirrell, while Snape gave you the antidote to the poison you had consumed. I took over for her, and I must admit, to my own folly, that he got away from me.”

“He escaped, Professor?” Lily said, biting her lip.

“I’m afraid so, Lily. It seems Quirrell was far more powerful than any of us had thought. And that isn’t taking into account the dark wizard that was living on the other side of his head.”

“You saw You-Know-Who, Professor?”

Dumbledore frowned, losing the twinkle in his eye. “Yes, Lily, I saw him. It was in my shock that he managed to distract me long enough to flee. I didn’t believe he was dead, no, I thought quite the opposite. But I hadn’t expected him to appear in the safety of Hogwarts. That was quite a shock, even for me.”

“So You-Know-Who is still out there, then?” Lily asked, feeling terror rise up again.

Dumbledore leaned forward, looking directly into Lily’s eyes. “I seem to recall that you weren’t afraid to say Voldemort’s name, Lily.”

Lily bit her lip. She tried to push the fear back down, not wanting the headmaster to see. He had a way of knowing what people were thinking. “He almost killed me, Professor.”

Dumbledore continued staring for a long while, then nodded his head in understanding. “You are not the first to lose their courage, Lily. Do not be ashamed. As long as you continue to stand against him despite your fear, he will be incapable of winning.”

Lily could almost scream. “I don’t want to fight him again, Professor.”

“Neither do I, Lily. But such is our lot in life. But enough of Lord Voldemort, we shall talk of him another time. Did you destroy the Mirror of Erised, Lily?”

Lily looked away so the professor couldn’t see the tears coming. She hadn’t expected to get so emotional, but here she was. “Yes, Professor.”

“Most excellent, Lily. You did what even I did not have the strength to do.”

Lily bit her lip, a tear leaving her eye despite her trying to hold it back. “I didn’t want to, Professor. My parents had to beg me too.”

“So you heard them, then?’

Lily looked over, not caring about her tears anymore. She saw the old man was getting teary eyed himself, and she suddenly felt ashamed that she had wanted to hide it.

“Yes, Professor,” Lily said. “I thought I was going crazy down there, they knew help was on the way somehow.

Dumbledore smiled. “I didn’t know if it would work, I must admit. It was a little something I added to protect the stone. That is why they didn’t speak to you before. As to how they knew, well, I think they may have just been giving you hope. I knew they’d do anything to protect you, and so they did everything they could.”

Lily wiped at her eyes. “Thank you, Professor.” She sniffed.

Dumbledore remained silent, letting Lily get her emotions together while he waited.

“I’m afraid I lied to you on Christmas, Miss Potter.”

Lily looked up, surprised to see the Headmaster shed a tear.

“Professor?” she said.

“I did not see socks. I shall not say what it is I saw, but I will tell you that the mirror held a power over me as well. That is the only reason it remained in the castle before. When I caught you that night, I was on my way to look at it myself. If I had destroyed it earlier, you would not have found yourself in that room. I deeply apologize.” Dumbledore composed himself, all his emotions immediately vanishing. Even the trail of the single tear was gone without a trace.

“You have done us both a favor, Miss Potter. For that, and for protecting the stone, I award you with 75 points.”

Lily’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “I’m not being expelled, professor?”

“How can I expel you, when the fault lies completely with me? I had thought to give you a chance, to let you protect the stone. It could have cost us both dearly.” Dumbledore stood, checking his pocket watch. “I’m afraid I must go now, or Poppy will have my head. I will see you at the feast tomorrow, Lily.”

Lily’s mouth fell open. “Tomorrow? But it’s-“

“Monday,” Dumbledore said, smiling. “You have been asleep since Saturday, Lily. Your friends have been quite anxious.”

Dumbledore gestured to a nearby table, causing Lily to gasp again. She hadn’t noticed it before, but it was covered in candies of all sorts, gifts from all of Gryffindor.

“Do you mind?” Dumbledore asked, picking up a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavored Beans. Lily didn’t know what those were, but she suddenly found herself fascinated.

“No, Professor, go ahead,” Lily responded.

“I had the misfortune to run across a vomit flavored one in my youth, and I haven’t touched them since. I think a nice toffee is in order, however.” Dumbledore placed a light brown bean into his mouth, and then chewed for a moment.

“Alas,” he said, “Ear wax.”

Madame Pomfrey had forbidden Lily any other visitors, and the first year had been unable to change her mind. The nurse let her go after one more day of bedrest, and after hours of inspecting every inch of Lily’s body to make sure nothing else was wrong. Lily didn’t mind, this time. She had almost died, and she just wanted to be alone for a bit. She didn’t think she’d be able to take Hermione’s scolding immediately after waking up.

Lily left the Hospital Wing the next day well after lunch had closed. She hurried past all the students who were trying to talk to her, heading straight for the Entrance Hall. She walked out onto the grounds, enjoying the fresh air and the sunlight. She dug in her pocket for her only remaining earring, and then fastened it back onto her right ear. She had been surprised to find it hadn’t gotten lost during her struggle to escape.

Lily jogged down to the lake, spotting two figures sitting in the shade under their usual tree. She briefly scowled, wondering why there weren’t three, but she forced herself to get over it.

“Lily!” Ron called, hopping up once he spotted her. Neville got up as well, although far less gracefully. Lily threw them both into a tight hug, happy to be alive.

“I’m glad you’re alright, Neville,” Lily said after breaking the hug and quickly wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

“Please, he was nothing compared to you,” Ron said. “You looked horrible when they carried you out of there. What happened, anyway?”

Lily quickly filled the two of them in on what had gone down. Neville had looked terrified at the prospect of facing the dark lord, but Ron had just smiled.

“Wicked,” he said. “That’s much better than what Fred and George have been telling everyone.”

Lily smiled at the compliment, suddenly feeling braver. “What have they been saying?”

“They told everyone you blew up Quirrell for trying to sick a horde of trolls on the castle.”

Lily’s smile grew wider. “I bet Hermione loved that one. Where is she, anyway? Still in the library after term’s over?”

Neville and Ron frowned, exchanging a look with each other.

“What?” Lily asked, suddenly feeling the warmth inside vanish.

“Well,” Neville started, looking over at Ron.

“She’s been avoiding us,” Ron said. “We don’t think she wants anything to do with us anymore, to be quite frank.”

Lily did her best to keep a straight face. “What do you mean?”

“We’ve tried talking to her,” Neville said.

“But she said she didn’t want to talk with us,” Ron said. “Said we’ve been a bad influence on you, and she doesn’t want to get wrapped up in it too.”

“I’m gonna go find her,” Lily said, rising from the ground. “Maybe if I apologize, she’ll come around.”

“Lily,” Neville called after her as he rose to follow.

“Give her some space, mate,” Ron said, holding Neville back.

Lily found her exactly where she expected to, sitting in the library alone. She had a stack of books she was going through, although there were no writing instruments or parchment on the table. Clearly, this was just for fun.

“Can I sit here?” Lily asked, gesturing to an empty seat.

“Lily!” Hermione said, briefly excited to see she was okay. Hermione composed herself, forcing the smile away. “I’d prefer if you didn’t.”

Lily took a seat anyway. “I’m sorry, Hermione.”

“Are you?” Hermione asked, refusing to meet her eye.

“If this is about me petrifying you-“

“Of course it’s not,” Hermione snapped.

“Then what is it?”

“I thought you were sorry. How can you be sorry if you don’t even know what you’re apologizing for?”

Lily bit her lip. “I’m sorry for a lot of things, Hermione, but I thought I needed to see the mirror.”

“I tried to talk you out of it.”

“I know, and I should have listened. I promise I won’t do anything like that again. I’ve had enough. I don’t want to get myself killed.”

Hermione stared across the table. “I don’t believe you.”

“Hermione-“

“I should rephrase that. I don’t believe you’re capable of stopping.”

Lily furrowed her brow in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“You have no impulse control, Lily. You get it in your head that you have to do one thing, and you just can’t stop yourself.”

“I do not-“

“Malfoy took Neville’s Remembrall, and you flew after it, despite it being against the rules.”

“Okay, but that’s-“

“You’re constantly going against the dress code, despite McGonagall’s frequent scolding.”

“That’s-“

“You _snuck_ into the _restricted section_ on Christmas and tried out a spell _without reading what it did first_!”

Lily frowned. “How did you know that?”

“Please, Lily, I’m not an idiot,” Hermione said, rolling her eyes. “I asked McGonagall what you really did when you snuck out. Just getting caught and finding the mirror wasn’t a good enough excuse.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t mean-“

“I’m not done yet. You went directly against Snape’s instructions for the exam, despite the possible consequences.”

“But it worked-“

“You didn’t tell Neville and me that Malfoy was onto us.”

Lily’s mouth dropped open.

“Malfoy told us that one. He seemed to enjoy that you didn’t think highly enough of us to give a warning. I thought he was lying, but you obviously know the truth.”

Lily pulled at her tie. “Hermione-“

“And the worst of all, Lily, you _refused_ to listen to reason and went to the forbidden corridor. Then, despite all warning sides, you _kept going deeper._ ”

“We had to protect the stone!” Lily said. “You even wanted to-“

“I wanted to tell a professor,” Hermione said. “And it worked, didn’t it? They saved you.”

“But Quirrell would have-“

“Does Quirrell have the stone right now?”

Lily bit her lip. “No, but that’s-“

“Then he never would have gotten it, even if you hadn’t gone down there. Dumbledore was on his way back, and he would have stopped Quirrell himself.”

“Okay,” Lily said, feeling frustrated. “Did you get it all out of your system now?”

“I suppose so,” Hermione said, flipping open another book.

“Can I say I’m sorry again?”

“Of course you can.”

“I’m sorry, Hermione,” Lily said. “Can you please forgive me?”

“No,” Hermione said, hiding herself behind a book.

“Hermione,” Lily said, feeling more tears coming. “Please, I-“

“Lily,” Hermione said in a sad tone. “I can’t do this anymore. Please leave me alone.”

Lily bit her lip, but stood up from the table. She left as quickly as she could, so Hermione didn’t have to tolerate her presence anymore.

Lily had a nice cry in Hagrid’s Hut, who had been more than willing to talk to her. Lily was upset with herself. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t come back to cry at Hagrid’s anymore, but the instant Hermione is back to ignoring here, here she is.

“She’ll come around, Lily,” Hagrid said, pouring Lily a cup of tea. “She always does, that Hermione.”

Lily sniffed, feeling a little better. “I know, Hagrid. I’m sure she will. I just needed to get it all out, that’s all.” She tried to convince her that what she was saying was true, but she could hear Malfoy’s taunts in her mind.

“I’ve got a lil’ somethin’ for yeh,” Hagrid said, rummaging through his coat. “Meant t0 give it to yeh for yer birthday, but now is good.” Hagrid took a book out of his pocket, and handed it over.

Lily took it, and almost cried again after seeing the cover.

It had a picture of her parents on it, smiling in Hogwarts robes, wearing their Head Boy and Head Girl badges. Lily hadn’t even known they ever held those positions. Her father was a lot less serious looking; he had even messier hair and was wearing a silly grin. Her mother had her eyes on her father, staring at him lovingly.

“Happy birthday, Lily,” Hagrid said.

Lily flipped through the photo album, thankful beyond words. She hoped Hagrid got the point anyway.

Lily tucked the photo album into her robes as she made her way back into the castle for the feast. She had spent most of the day with Hagrid, looking through all the different photos. Her favorite one had been of her father chasing baby Lily around while she flew on a tiny broom. She was pretty sure she spent a whole hour sitting in that cabin just smiling at that one photo.

Lily joined the rest of the Gryffindors in the Great Hall, sitting beside Ron while Neville sat across from them.

The Great Hall was adorned in the blue and bronze of Ravenclaw, their proud eagle adorning every banner. Lily’s large points award had been enough to bring Gryffindor into second place, but just small enough to not cheat another house out of victory. It was also enough to get the rest of Gryffindor to pull back their animosity, as Lily had received several congratulations on the way to her seat. Some had sniffed at her, refusing to make eye contact. She recognized those as the ones she had snubbed on her way out of the castle earlier in the day.

Dumbledore stood at the staff table, and the hall fell silent.

“Another wonderful year has passed at Hogwarts,” he began his speech. “And what a year it was. We are said to report that Professor Quirrell’s employment at Hogwarts has been terminated, and he shall not return with us next year.” A few students laughed at that, but they quickly died out. Lily felt a brief twinge of fear, but she managed to stifle it.

“Congratulations to Ravenclaw for winning the House Cup, unseating the seven-year streak of Slytherin.” The Ravenclaws let out a cheer at that, met equally by the jeers of the Slytherins. Hufflepuff stayed silent, looking grumpy, while Gryffindor seemed satisfied with their second place, and joined in on the cheering.

“Special congratulations are in order for young Hazel Potter, who defended the Philosopher’s Stone with her life, defeating Professor Quirrell. Let us give her a round of applause.” Dumbledore lead the applause, which was matched by nearly everyone. Only half of Slytherin stayed silent, Malfoy included.

Lily was smiling, feeling embarrassed, as she glanced around the Great Hall. Her eyes froze on Hermione, who she noticed wasn’t clapping. Lily’s smiled vanished.

“And lastly, I hope you all had a wonderful year, and your heads are full of new knowledge. You have all of the summer to get them nice and empty again. You shall find your exam scores posted when you return to your commons rooms.” That earned plenty of groans from every table.

“Farewell to our seventh years, who will be leaving us for the last time tomorrow. I hope you all keep in touch, we would love to hear of you. Enjoy the feast, and I shall see the rest of you again next term.”

Dumbledore clapped his hands once, and the silver platters all filled with food. Ron and Neville began piling food onto their plates, but Lily found that her heart wasn’t in it.

When they returned to the common room hours later, Lily saw that she had the top marks in Charms among all the first years, Hermione coming in third place behind Padma Patil of Ravenclaw. Lily had managed to pass Transfiguration and Herbology, her biggest worries. She was near the top of Potions, only held back by her average scores from the first semester. She decided she was aiming for the top there as well next year.

Hermione had managed to come in at top of the class overall. Charms was the only class she hadn’t ranked first in. Ron and Neville had both managed to pass as well, Neville carried by his extremely high Herbology results.

Lily had tried to share the celebration with Hermione when she saw the results, but the bushy-haired girl had already gone up to bed. Lily followed suit, feeling subdued when she saw Hermione’s curtains had already been pulled shut.

The next morning, Lily’s trunk was all packed, Weasley was in his cage, and she was heading towards the Entrance Hall with Ron and Neville, complaining about Hermione ignoring her.

“She’ll come around, Lily,” Neville said.

“Yeah,” Ron agreed. “I’m sure she won’t make it a week into the summer before she writes to you. She can’t hold out forever.”

Lily watched Hermione load her trunk into a carriage with Parvati and Lavender. “I’m not so sure,” Lily said, giving a sad smile. “I think I may have really messed up this time.”

“You’re a hero, Lily,” Ron said, rolling his eyes. “Nobody can hate a hero.”

Lily suddenly thought of something., memory jogged by Ron’s word choice. “Your sister hasn’t heard about what I did, has she?”

Ron smiled. “Oh, she sure has. Mum told her immediately. You’ll be wishing for peace and quiet by the end of the summer.”

Lily groaned. “Can’t I stay in your room with Neville instead?”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind,” Ron said, scratching his nose. “But Mum would throw a fit. You’ll more space with Ginny, anyway. She had the largest room.”

Lily frowned. “Why is that?”

“Mum wanted a girl the most, I guess,” Ron said, shrugging.

“That doesn’t seem fair.” Lily crossed her arms.

“I’d give her a pass,” Ron said. “She already had six boys before Ginny. Fred and George are enough to drive anyone mad by themselves.”

“Miss Potter,” Professor McGonagall called from behind. Ron and Neville sniggered.

Lily groaned again, turning around. She had decided to skip the tie, since they were leaving the castle. She didn’t know how McGonagall had noticed from behind.

“Here you go, Potter,” McGonagall said, handing over a broomstick.

Lily looked up, surprised. “Professor?” She asked, one hand on the broomstick.

“What is it Potter?” McGonagall said, frustrated.

“I thought I lost the broom.”

“It was only confiscated for the school year, Potter. Now the school year is over.”

“But you bought it, not me.”

“And it was a gift for you. Take it.”

“But-“

“ _Take the broom Potter,_ ” McGonagall repeated, thrusting the broom forward.

“Yes, Professor,” Lily said, taking the broom. “Thank you, Professor.” She blushed, holding the broom at her side.

“I’ve never heard of anyone arguing against a free broom before,” McGonagall huffed. “Have a good holiday, Miss Potter. Please do not let me see you in my office again next year.”

“Yes, Professor,” Lily said, blushing again. She heard Ron and Neville snigger again from behind her.

Hours later, the Hogwarts Express was rolling into King’s Cross station. Lily had found she wasn’t cheerful enough to talk with Ron and Neville, and had spent most of the ride reading from her textbooks. She did that mostly for the distraction; her brain was too fried to learn anything right now.

Ron and Neville returned from changing, now wearing muggle clothes. Ron frowned at Lily, who was still sitting in her school robes, even with the train having come to a complete stop.

“Why aren’t you wearing muggle clothes?” he asked.

“I can’t,” Lily said, blushing. “I grew too much, only my school robes fit anymore.

Ron grunted. “I did notice you shot past Hermione. I’m still taller, though.”

Lily sniffed. “It isn’t a competition, Ron.”

“Well, that’s good for you, then, since I’m winning.”

“Just you wait, I’ll find a growth potion over the summer, and I’ll be taller when I come to visit.”

“That’s cheating. You at least have to be a good sport about it.”

Lily smiled, wishing she hadn’t spent most of the day ignoring her only two remaining friends.

They got off the train together, Lily now capable of carrying her trunk by herself. When Lily saw Gran waving to them across the station, she suddenly realized how much she had grown after all. Gran was nowhere near as fearsomely large now, although she was certainly still much bigger than Lily was.

Neville ran up to his grandmother, while Lily followed behind. Lily saw Hermione pulling her trunk towards her parents, who quickly threw the girl into a hug. Lily considered her options, then went for it, heading towards the three.

“Hermione,” she called.

Hermione turned, frowning when she spotted Lily. She looked back to her parents, who urged her forward.

“What do you want?” Hermione asked once they were out of ear shot.  
“I’m not giving up,” Lily said.

“What?” Hermione said.

“Next year,” Lily said, smiling. “We’re going to be friends again. I’m not letting you ignore me.  
“Lily, I asked you to-“

“And I refuse,” Lily said, crossing her arms. “I already went too long without you talking to me, I’m not doing it again.”

Hermione bit her lip, looking back at her parents. She turned back, nodding her head. “Fine. You can write me over the summer, and I’ll consider making up.”

“Thank you,” Lily said, throwing the other girl into a hug. Hermione hesitated before returning it. Hermione held on a little longer than Lily did.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Hermione said, sniffing. “I need to get back now, my parents need to make some stops before we head home.”

“I’ll write soon,” Lily promised as she walked away. She pulled her own cart away, heading back to where the Longbottoms were waiting.

Before Lily could reach the two of them, she suddenly found herself accosted by a plump ginger woman.

“There you are,” she said, throwing her arms around Lily, who was standing still in shock. “It’s good to finally meet you, dear.” The woman broke off, holding Lily’s face tenderly.

“I tried to stop her,” Ron said, walking up, ears red.

“There is no stopping that one,” Fred said.

“Welcome to the family,” George said.

“Oh, hush,” Mrs. Weasley said. She turned back to Lily, smiling widely. “Well, I’ll let you go now, dear, but don’t be a stranger. I’ll see you in a few weeks. We’ll all be going shopping with each other, and then Augusta will be sending you and Neville off with us from there.” Mrs. Weasley gave Lily another quick hug, and then left the young girl standing there, shell-shocked.

“Well, come on, then” Gran called from the side, already walking off impatiently with Neville. “Let’s be off.”

Lily shook her head, trying to get ahold of herself. She jogged to catch up, lugging her trunk behind her.

“Wait for me, Gran,” she said, looking forward to the next year.


End file.
